Pottery

Pottery is made by forming a clay into an object mostly vase, cups, etc, then heating them to a high temperature in a kiln which purpose is to remove all the water in the clay, which help to strengthen, hardening and setting the shape. When kneading the clay, some air are trapped inside the clay. Kneading help to moisturize the clay. The air inside the clay must be remove, this is called de-airing and can be done using a machine called a vacuum pug or can be done manually by wedging. Once a clay body has been kneaded and de-aired or wedged, it is shaped by a variety of techniques. After shaping the clay, you must wait for it to dry and then heating it. Some decoration of design or patterns ca be added on the clay-body after or before heating it.

There are many types of clay that can be used for pottery, some of them are;

1. Kaolin, also known as China clay as it is first used in China.
2. Stoneware Clay, this clay is very suitable for creating a stoneware. This clay have a finer grain and more heat resistant.
3. Fire Clay, it is quite plastic, highly heat resistant that can be combined with other clays to increase the firing temperature.

There are many techniques to create a pottery, some of them are;

1. By using hand or manually, also known as hand building. It is the oldest technique. Parts of hand-built vessels are often joined together with the aid of slip, an aqueous suspension of clay body and water. It is very rare to create the same pottery using hand building, so sometimes it refers to  one-of-a-kind works of art.
   

   
2. Use the potter's wheel. Using the process of throwing, a ball of clay is placed on the center of a turntable, called the wheel-head, then it start to rotate with a stick, with foot power or with a variable-speed electric motor.