Digging the Clay
Refining the Clay
Removes the impurities, roots, small pebbles,
leaves, other organic matter from the clay.
Wedging the Clay
Wedging removes the air pockets from the clay and
gives it all the same consistency.
Forming the Clay
Throwing or
turning on the
Wheel (always
symmetrical)
Hand building
(can be
symmetrical or
asymmetrical)
Throwing or Turning
• A contemporary potter uses modern tools and techniques. Wheels
are electric and are operated by a speed pedal on the floor.
• Traditional potters use old fashioned tools and techniques.
Traditional wheels were known as kick wheels and were operated by
kicking leg to make wheel go around.
• Hands are always kept wet by dipping them in a slip bucket so
that clay glides through hands. Slip is a clay/ water mixture.
Throwing or Turning
Hand forming the Clay
Pinch – Method using the thumb and
fingers to hollow out the clay ball.
Slab – Clay is rolled out flat, cut into
shapes then panels are assembled to
create a form.
Coil – Clay is rolled out into long coils.
Coils are then layered and blended to
create a form.
Molding the Clay
Drape Mold– Clay is draped over a preexisting object and as clay drys, it
takes the form of the object. Clay must
be removed before drying completely
because it shrinks as it drys and will
crack and break if not allowed to
shrink.
Press Mold– Clay is pressed into a pre-formed
object, as clay drys, it takes the form of the
object and shrinks.
Slip Cast Molds
How does a Potter mark their Wares?
Look on the bottom of the pots!
Greenware
Clay must completely dry before it can be fired. Any moisture in
the clay would evaporate too quickly and cause the pottery to
explode. Pottery is at its most fragile state during this process
and can easily be broken if not handled carefully.
Recycling the Clay
As long as clay hasn’t been
fired yet, it can still be
broken back down and
recycled even after drying
out bone dry.
Pug Mill
Firing the Clay
Firing the clay is the process of putting it in a big oven called a
kiln and baking it at an extremely high temperature. Pottery
must be slowly heated and slowly cooled down so this process
usually takes a full day. Greenware is stacked on shelves and the
potter keeps adding shelves until the kiln is full.
Firing the Clay
Traditional potters
use a wood burning
kiln called a ground
hog kiln.
Bisqueware
Bisqueware is clay that has been fired once. After the first firing
the clay is now ready to glazed. It is always wise to rinse your
bisqueware off with water before glazing to remove any clay
dust from the kiln.
Glazing your Pottery
Glaze is a paint like substance that is made up of different
minerals. Glazes can be applied by a paint brush or pottery can
be dunked in large glaze containers.
nd
2
Firing
After glazing the pottery it is fired a second time. During this firing the
minerals in the glazes melt and create a shiny, glass like coating over
the pottery. This makes the pottery dinner ware safe. Different
minerals when melted create different colors.
Traditional Glaze Types
Lead Glaze – Predominantly used on North
Carolina Earthenware clay from 1750’s to 1930’s.
Made from lead ore. Created a clear glaze,
however other mineral oxides were often added
to give pottery brown tones.
Alkaline Glaze – Creates a olive green color.
Originating from the orient, this glaze was used
on stonewares predominantly in Western North
Carolina.
Salt Glaze – A coating formed on the pots by throwing
salt into the kiln during the highest temperature of
the firing process. Salt vaporizes and creates a orange
peel texture on the pottery.
After cooling the pottery is
now ready to be sold. Some
potter’s have shops where
they sell their wares while
others hold kiln openings a
few times a year when
customers are invited to the
pottery’s home and purchase
pottery right out of the
potter’s yard.
Properties of Ceramics
Earthenware (Low fire pottery) 1800 degrees,
permeable, must be glazed if used for food or
water.
Stoneware (High fire pottery)
2100-2300 degrees, increased
porosity, no glaze required
Porcelain 2600 degrees, purest clay,
white clay body, no glaze required,
usually enameled or painted
Raku Firing
The process of Raku firing differs from other firing methods
because the pots are removed from the kiln at their maximum
temperature. Raku uses a different type of clay that can
withstand rapid changes in temperature. Pots are heated to 1800
degrees F, the kiln is opened and each molten glazed pot is
removed with a pair of tongs. The extremely hot pots are placed
into containers of sawdust which produces thick black smoke. The
carbon is wicked into the porous clay body, blackening the clay
and accentuating the crackle pattern of the glaze.
Raku
Many times Raku can be distinctly
recognized by its metallic colors that
cannot be created using traditional
glazes.
NC Pottery Timeline
First NC Potters were the
Native Americans, producing
pottery as early as 3000 BC.
Pottery was mainly used for
food preparation and
cooking. Clay pots were pit
fired. Pots were made in a
conical shape for sitting in
the fire pit and allowing the
fire to be around the pot.
Native Americans first NC
potters.
Moravians
The Moravians moved from
Pennsylvania to North
Carolina in 1754 and
established the community of
Bethabara around the area
that is now Winston Salem.
Gottfried Aust was the first
Master Moravian Potter in
North Carolina. The pottery
created was very Utilitarian
(artwork that serves a
purpose) Jugs, bowls, pans,
bottles, jars, pots, mugs and
plates. Function was more
important then decoration.
The Moravian potters were
very technically sound and
only focused on making
pottery.
Moravian Pottery
Moravian potters would later use the
decorative technique of slip trailing to
create intricate designs on their
pottery. Many of the symbols included
carried religious importance to the
Moravians that believed that all of
their works should created in honor of
God.
Folk Potters
Folk potters were
independent rural
farmers, who made
pottery when they had
time away from their
crops. Their techniques
weren’t as polished and
all of their wares were
made for Utilitarian
purposes. Jars, jugs, milk
churns, pitchers, baking
dishes and chamber pots.
Pottery was mainly used
for food and liquid
storage.
Face Jugs
Face jugs have several claims
of origin. Some of the earliest
face jugs were from the
Edgefield, South Carolina
area made by African slave
potters who incorporated
African ritual characteristics
from the Congo minkisi
figures.
Face Jugs
Folklorist later claim hat face jugs were created in the
mountains of North Carolina to be used for Moonshine storage.
Young children were told to stay away from the jugs with ugly
faces on them because they contained bad stuff.
Modern Day Face Jugs
Modern Day Face Jugs
North Georgia Potter Kevin “Turkey” Merck
The Industrial Revolution in the early 1800’s brought the
invention of refrigeration and canned foods and marked
a decline for the need for Utilitarian pottery. Pottery
saw a resurgence during the late 1800’s in the art
pottery movement. Pottery was now being collected as
art instead of for utilitarian purposes.
Considered
North Carolina’s
last true Folk
Potter
Experience in pottery was usually gained from it being handed down
from one family member to another. Here Ben Owen shows a very
young Ben Owen III tricks of the trade. Now grown, Ben Owen III is
considered one of the most accomplished potter’s in Seagrove. Now a
person can go to school or college to learn how to become a potter
Pottery Regions of North Carolina
Seagrove, NC considered Pottery Capital
Town features over 100 pottery shops with a wide
range of forms, styles and glaze techniques.
Sanford Pottery Festival is now the largest
pottery festival in North Carolina