Ceramic Terminology

5. Making scratches into the surfaces you will be attaching together.
6. High fire clay. After firing holds little to no water. Smooth and refined to touch.
8. Clay that has slightly dried. Best for carving into and still holding the shape.
10. Smearing the clay back and forth at connected areas so no seam shows.
13. Low fire clays. Porous clay, it is less dense and strong.
15. Creates a shiny reflective surface. Usually applied after decoration.
16. Used to decorate pieces of clay.

1. Clay has completely air dried and has no moisture left
2. Very wet, sludgy clay. Used as a glue to attach two pieces of clay together.
3. Clay fires at higher temperatures. Less porous. Used for dinnerware or holding water.
4. Clay that has been through the first stages of firing. At this stage you can decorate the clay with underglaze & glazes.
7. A property exhibited by soft clay
9. An earthenware clay, usually redish- brown in colour, when fired is still porous.
11. Pottery that has been shaped but not yet fired.
12. The progressive partial fusion of a clay, or of a body, as a result of a firing process.
14. The process of removing air from within the clay.