1. The art and process of making objects from clay
Ceramics
The art and process of making objects from clay

2. What is clay?
Where does it come from?
How do we use it?

3. Clay is a naturally occurring mineral material.

4. Clay = Decomposed Rock
As rock weathers over time it decomposes. Clay is one component of soil, formed by the breakdown of minerals into very tiny particles.

5. PHOTOMICROGRAPH OF KAOLIN PLATELETS
Clay is made of thousand of tiny particles or PLATELETS that have water between them.

6. Clay Mine

7. Prepared & processed clay
Clay drying

8. Different types of clay bodies
Earthenware
Stoneware
Porcelain
We use EARTHENWARE in this class.

9. Ceramic artifacts have an important role in archaeology for understanding the culture, technology and behavior of peoples of the past.
They are among the most common artifacts to be found at an archaeological site, generally in the form of small fragments of broken pottery called sherds
Pottery shards are frequently found at archeology sites. These are from the Anasazi culture of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

10. Some of the many uses for ceramics materials besides making sculpture and pottery-
Roof tiles
Artificial joints for hips and knees
Insulators on spark plugs

11. Ceramic knife blades
Terra cotta flowerpots
Toilets
Floor and wall tiles
Thermal protection tiles on spacecraft

12. How we work with clay: WEDGING: mixing the clay by hand by rotating
and pressing clay on a surface. Why?
-remove all air bubbles
-thoroughly homogenize the clay

13. 2. Throwing on the pottery wheel
Two main ways of making things out of clay:
1. Handbuilding
2. Throwing on the pottery wheel

14. Different handbuilding techniques:
Pinching

15. Coiling

16. Slab construction

17. can be done with any construction method
Carving & Modeling
can be done with any construction method

18. 3. Bone dry (or greenware) 4. Bisqued 5. Glazed
Stages of Clay
1. Moist (or plastic)
2. Leatherhard
3. Bone dry (or greenware)
4. Bisqued
5. Glazed

19. Moist (or plastic)

20. Leatherhard

21. Bonedry (or greenware)

22. Bonedry clay is loaded into a specialized oven called a KILN to be heated to a high temperature.
Clay becomes ceramic as it is heated into a permanent and hard form.

23. Bisque
Or bisque fired
Ceramics that has been fired in the kiln in order to harden the clay.

24. GLAZE -a mixture of chemicals and water that when fired to high temperatures fuses to a ceramic surface and creates a glassy coating.

25. Before glaze firing After glaze firing
After applying the glaze, we put the ceramics work back into the kiln for a second firing-
the Glaze Firing. The heat from the firing causes the glaze to transform into a strong, glassy coating.

26. Examples of ceramics made by Penn Wood students.