What are the stages a piece of clay goes through to make a finished piece of pottery?

Answer 1

1. Slip-watered down clay in a muddy form

2. Plastic-workable stage; molding stage; can recycle; can join to other pieces

3. Leather-hard-stiff and will hold its shape; join to other pieces; carve into; recycle

4. Greenware-bone dry; can be carved into; very fragile; can recycle

5. Bisqueware-fired once in kiln; can not be recycled; glazing stage

6. Earthenware-second fire-low fire; can not be recycled

7. Glazeware-second fire-high fire; can not be recycled; vitrified

Answer 2

The stages are pretty simple. You first start off making your piece of art work and once you've finalized what it is you chose to make, let the piece dry til the clay surface is no longer cold to the touch. Any excess water still in your clay when firing to completion will result in kiln bursts! So, you want to make sure that the art work is "bone dry". You want to know what kind of clay body you're working with to begin with so that you know what cone you should use when firing your work. Cones are the small cone shaped, clay- like things you'll use to tell what temperature you piece should be complete at. It's important to know what kind of clay you are working with like i said before, otherwise you could be dealing with a one time fire or multiple firing. For example if you are working with most functional pottery, than you'll need to bisque and then glaze fire. good luck!

Answer 3

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