Pottery

Pottery is considered to be one of the oldest technologies and art forms. Pottery refers to the ceramic merchandise that's designed by workers who are called potters. The areas or places were pottery items are produced, are often referred to as potteries. Pottery continues to remain as a major industry today.

How Pottery Is Formed
Pottery is done through forming a clay body into different objects of a required shape or style. The objects that are formed will then be heated in high temperatures, in a machine called a kiln, to induce conditions that will lead to permanent changes, which include an increase in size, as well as to the hardening or setting of the object's shape. Generally, the pottery forms of each region or locality are produced to create wares that have a distinct regional flavor or traditional quality. Some pottery versions are also mixed with different clays and minerals, to suit specific occasions or purposes. Before the clay body is shaped, the air trapped in it is first removed. The process is called de-airing, and this can be done through using a machine called a vacuum pug. It can also be done manually, and the process is referred to as wedging. Wedging, according to pottery experts, helps to ensure the body's even moisture content.

After the clay body is wedged, it will then be shaped into different formats, using a variety of techniques. After shaping, the clay body is dried. The drying process takes a number of steps or stages. When the clay becomes 75 to 85% dry, it's called the leather-hard stage. A clay body may be considered to be bone-dry once it has already reached a moisture content of near 0%. Clay objects that are unfired are referred to as "green ware", and these become quite fragile and may easily beak at this stage.

Methods Used For Shaping Pots
Today there are a number of time-tested methods for shaping pots. One tested method is called Hand work or Hand building. Hand building is considered to be the earliest and most individual of direct clay-forming techniques. Different pot styles and wares can be made by hand, using coils of clay, flat slabs of clay, or solid balls of clay.
Throwing is a process wherein the forming wheel rapidly rotates, while a solid ball of clay is then pressed, squeezed and gently pulled upward and outward, into a hollow shape.
Jiggering is a method wherein a shaped tool comes in contact with a plastic clay object that's under construction. Jiggering is a method that's often used for producing flat wares such as plates.
Jolleying is a method that's used for producing hollow wares like cups. Both jolleying and jiggering have been used for producing hollow pots and wares since the 18th Century. Both methods also employed the use semi-skilled labor.
A Roller Head machine is used for shaping wares on a rotating mound, while the method is quite similar to jolleying and jiggering, the difference is that the roller head machine has a rotary-shaped tool, which replaces the fixed profile. The rotary-shaped cone features the same diameter as the ware that's about to be formed and shaped. Other popular methods for shaping pots include, RAM pressing, slip casting and granulate pressing

Pottery-Decorating Processes
Pottery can be effectively decorated through using a number of methods. These include incising patterns on the clay body, under glaze decoration, in-glaze decoration, on-glaze decoration and enamel. A number of additives can also be added and worked into the clay body before forming. These additives are often used to achieve a certain desired effect to the fixed ware. Some rough additives, like grog, which is finely-ground fired clay, and sand, are also used for giving the finished ware a required texture. Some colorants may also be added to create a desired colored pattern or combination. The colorants may consist of carbonates or metal oxides.