Pottery Class Essay

Submitted By yippieisfree
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Pages: 7
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Thousands of years ago earlier humans dug clay from river and stream beds, using it to make vessels for storage and food, weapons and countless other tools. Fast forward to today and it is still very much the same. Well not completely, our methods may have changed but ceramics are still one of the most widely used materials. From your coffee mug to your toilet, ceramics are still very much alive. In this paper I hope to explain more about pottery, more about myself and my processes. Part 1: History

Pottery is a ceramic material fashioned from clay that is mixed with other minerals. Typically it is formed into utilitarian vessels. Pottery is produced when wet clay is molded into the desired, then placed in an oven called a kiln in order to induce permanent changes resulting in increased mechanical strength. Typically the piece is fired a second time after a glaze has been applied in order to give it a shiny, more polished appearance.

There are a few basic forming techniques for pottery which are handwork, wheel work and slip casting. Wheel worked pieces need to be finished using hand working techniques but slip casting pieces do not need to be finished in this manner. Formation of pottery has often taken into account aesthetic and artistic considerations, but these days, much of the time pottery is mass-produced using mechanized reproduction techniques, like the toilets I mentioned above. This practice has prompted potters in industrialized nations to focus more on aesthetic aspects than utilitarian uses. Each world region has produced different types of clay, with some potters digging clay out of natural banks. Today potters often combine different clays and minerals to produce clay suited for their specific purposes.

Pottery fired at temperatures between 800 and 1200 degrees Celsius remains slightly porous and is referred to as terra cotta or earthenware. This type of pottery displays more colorful glazes, but is more susceptible to breaks. Clay fired at a higher temperature is known as stoneware. Stoneware is fashioned from a heavier clay mixture and exhibits greater strength than earthenware. Porcelain, the third form of pottery, is an extremely refined, smooth, white body that, when fired, can exhibit translucent qualities. It is formed from a fine white clay called koalin, a fine white clay mixed with controlled amounts of feldspar and flint that is fired at a low temperature. There are many uses for pottery pieces today from our dinner table to covering the bottom of the Space Shuttle. Because it is such a useful product, you can be sure that whether is man-made or nature-made, it will be around for as long as we find uses for it. Its one of the main ingredients in bricks, floor tile or indoor tile in general and everywhere you look you will see some evidence of clay materials being used for something.

Part 2: Me

I never really choose to become a potter, or even an artist for that matter. It was always something I had wanted to try but never had the resources. I knew there was a wheel involved, and that the wheel spun, and then you had a pot. I was fascinated by the thought of forming something with my own hands, something I had not done much of, being young. It was my sophomore year in High school when I finally got my chance to try it out. Coil pots were first on the menu, and by the end of the week I had something that looked more related to a boulder than clay. The first of many hints that hand building was not for me. I pushed on without discouragement however and after a few more hand built rocks the time finally came to try the potter's wheel. I remember being nervous, and I remember doing a horrible job. After forty five minuets the finished project was an off-center blob twirling on the bat in front of me. I learned things that day, as well as everyday after that. The more and more I worked on the wheel the better I got, slowly but surely. Interestingly
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