additive sculpture: process of creating three-dimensional artwork by adding separate parts to create a whole
banding wheel: a type of wheel operated by hand
bat: disc of plaster, masonite, or wood, on which ceramic ware is formed & dried. Also used as a flat surface to throw on the wheel
bisque: ware which has had one firing (usually) at a low temperature
bisque fire: preliminary firing, prior to glazing and glaze firing
bone dry: clay, which is past leather hard and contains no moisture
coil: a method of creating pots by building bottom and walls with even, ropelike coils
glaze: a mixture of mineral & man-made powders, which melt & flow at a specific temperature & form a thin, glass-like surface coating
greenware: any unfired pottery
hand-building: forming clay without use of a wheel by using basic hand tools
kiln: a furnace used to fire ceramics
leather hard: partially dried clay, stiff enough to hold form, but still damp enough to be connected to other pieces of clay
needle tool: a small cylindrical rodlike instrument usually of polished steel for creating fine detail work in ceramics
plasticity: the malleability of the body porosity, the degree to which the fired pottery will absorb water and the shrinkage, the degree of reduction in size of a body as water is removed
pug: a mill for grinding and mixing materials, as clay to a desired condition
ribbon tool: a large looped ribbon tool made of iron that can be used for trimming as well as carving
rubber rib: kidney shaped rubber tool used as a finishing tool for smoothing surfaces
serrated rib: metal kidney shaped tool used for creating even texture, also useful for scoring
scoring: scratching the clay surface to make attaching pieces together easier
slab: a method of making pottery in which a thick, flat plate or slice is cut into shapes & joined together
slip: clay in liquid suspension with water & chemicals used to attach clay together
subtractive sculpture: the oldest form of sculpture and involves removing material to create a finished work
throwing: forming pottery on the potters wheel
wedging: kneading clay to release air pockets
wire-cutters: tool with two wooden handles at either end used for taking clay off of the wheel and cutting large quantities of clay