Pottery shaping
Pottery can be shaped by a range of methods that include:
Hand-building or sculpting
This is the earliest forming method. Items can be constructed by hand from clay. Raw clay pieces are flattened by hand and rolled in various shapes. Clay is mixed with water and let to dry. It can be decorated before or after firing. Some studio potters find sculpting more creative and it defines the uniqueness of the piece of art.
​
Classic potter's wheel
A potter shapes a piece of pottery on an electric-powered or hand-powered wheel. In the potter's wheel, a ball of clay is placed in the centre called the wheel-head, which the potter rotates with a stick, with foot power or with a variable-speed electric motor. The wheel rotates while the solid ball of soft clay is pressed, squeezed and pulled gently upwards and outwards into a hollow shape. This requires some practice and the items and created on the wheel. They are lifted-off by a thread and either dried orfired depending on the requirement.
Pottery types
Earthenware
Earthenware is the most commonly found clay in nature and is the raw material usually used to make tiles, bricks, and most of the pottery in the world. This type of clay it is the most porous and soft and has the lowest firing temperature. The presence of iron oxide makes this clay look brown, red, gray or green. When it is fired it can be from red or tan to brown or black.
It is made waterproof by the application of a liquid (slip or glaze) before firing. To make decorative items and for practical reasons, most earthenware pieces are usually glazed.
Stoneware
Stoneware pottery is also made from clay which has been fired at a higher temperature than earthenware.
Dark coloured stoneware is made from buff, brown and red clays without added ingredients.
The temperature is high enough to partially vitrify the materials and make the piece slightly tougher than earthenware even when unglazed. It is extremely strong and will not absorb water. This type of pottery is opaque and it will not allow light to pass through it. Sometimes the stoneware is also glazed, but usually for purely decorative functions.
This is thought to have its origin in early China. Its main ingredient is kaolin, also known as China clay. It is also commonly called fine china and is this is quite delicate.
It is a hard, white, translucent ceramic made by firing a pure clay and then glazing it with variously colored fusible materials.
Porcelain is composed of very tiny particles and the qualities of smoothness is excellent for delicate pieces.
