15 posts filed under pottery basics.
Pottery slip is just clay and water blended to a cream. Here are the three recipes that matter — joining slip, decorating slip and casting slip — and the ratios for each.
Slip is clay mixed with water to a liquid consistency. It is used as glue for joining, as paint for decorating, and as a pourable material for casting into moulds.
Glazing means coating fired clay with a glass-forming mixture and firing it again. Here is what it does, why it is done, and the vocabulary that surrounds it.
Clay is made of hydrous aluminium silicate minerals formed by weathered rock, mixed with water and other particles. Here is what that means in practice.
Clay is weathered rock. Feldspar in granite breaks down over long periods into fine plate-shaped minerals, which water then carries and deposits in beds.
Clay makes bricks, tiles, porcelain, cement, paper coatings, drilling fluids, cat litter, cosmetics and medicines. Here is the full range and why one material does all of it.
Clay is classified as non-renewable because it forms over thousands of years, but it is also abundant and, before firing, endlessly recyclable. Both facts matter.
Most cracks are made during drying, not making or firing. Control airflow, keep bases and rims at similar rates, and slow the whole thing down.
A clay model is the original worked in clay, from a small maquette to a full-size version, that is then moulded and cast in bronze, resin or stone.
Grog is crushed pre-fired clay added back into a clay body. It cuts shrinkage, reduces cracking and warping, and adds tooth — at the cost of a rougher surface.
A complete first pot without a wheel: pinching or coiling the form, joining, drying, bisque firing and glazing, with the decision points explained.
Everything except the firing is straightforward at home. Here is what you can do on a kitchen table, what the kiln question really costs, and the realistic routes around it.
Clay bodies differ in firing range, porosity, grog content and how forgiving they are. Here is how to pick one for what you actually make.
Wedging removes air and evens out moisture and particle alignment. Learn the ram's head and spiral methods, and how to tell when the clay is ready.
Every pottery instruction depends on the clay being at the right stage. Here is how to identify each one by feel and what you can and cannot do at each.