Handmade Pottery

Raku:  If your new to the world of ceramics or pottery and you've heard of the term Raku you were probably curious as to what it meant.  First off there is a good amount of bad or incorrect information regarding Raku pottery that are also ranked high in Google.  We are going to attempt to provide a high level overview of Raku supported by multiple reputable sources...

Background:  Raku pottery is named for a family of Japanese

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raku_ware

http://www.ironandlace.com/Raku.htm - show vase from this site

an example of incomplete or worse bad information.... Raku Pottery questionable 'expert' info... http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-raku-pottery.htm

Earthenware: Earthenware refers to pottery that is often made of red clay and fired in a kiln at a relatively low heat compared with stoneware pottery (l).  Unglazed earthenware is typically porous and coarser than stoneware or porcelain (l).  For this reason earthenware fired once is not suitable for holding liquids.  A common approach to make earthenware containers is to apply a glaze and second firing which act to seal the pottery and make it water tight while also giving the pottery a decorative finish.

One of the most common and recognizable examples of earthenware pottery is terracotta (l).  Terracotta provides a good example of the porous and coarse characteristics of unglazed earthenware.   Because of the type of clay used and the low firing temperature earthenware is more fragile and subject to chipping compared to stoneware.  Also earthenware is normally opaque where hire fired stoneware such as porcelain is said to be translucent.  This can be demonstrated by holding a piece of each type up to the sun with your fingers splayed behind each piece.  If you do this experiment with a plate of china or polish pottery  stoneware(l) you will likely see the outlines of your fingers behind the stoneware.

Stoneware: Ceramic Stoneware... content coming May 2010

Porcelain: Everyone has heard of Porcelain... her skin was as white as porcelain.  But what exactly is porcelain and how is it different from something considered to be stoneware?  Porcelain starts with a very specific type of clay, it is usually a shorter (link) clay than most functional pottery and can be difficult to work with.  The composition of the clay used to make porcelain varies greatly with the addition of water.  Too much and the body in work can loose it's shapability, too little and it can be difficult to manipulate.  Porcelain can be impermeable without firing and is generally fired to change it's appearance and also to make it stain resistant.   Porcelain is fired at much higher temps than stoneware but can be considered stoneware depending on what definition is applied.

Agate: Refers to the intentional mixing of different types of clay to create a truly unique marble like appearance where the different type of clay have not completely mixed.   show sample - pat's pottery perhaps

Courtesy of Ecyclopedia Britianica (link)  A type of ware obtained by mixing clays of various colours to imitate natural marbles or agate. The working of marbled pottery can be traced back at least as far as the 1st century ad in Rome, and samples of the ware were produced as far from Rome as China. Techniques included the use of decorative bands of white-, brown-, and gray-marbled clay; tortoiseshell, obtained by mottling glazes with manganese brown; laying the slabs of variously coloured clay on each other and beating them out into a homogeneous mass (agate ware); and mingling coloured clay slips (liquid clay) on .

Potter's Wheel: The device which a potter will use to hand throw a piece of handmade pottery.  Usually several feet tall with round table top that supports raw clay.  Original Pottery Wheels were of course run by human power, today many purists still prefer to have a pedal powered potter's wheel or a kickplate wheel (verify) but plenty of electrical potter's wheels are available.  Pottery Wheels range in price from.... - when developed, different types?  Best brands, used kilns etc?  anything helpful to someone looking for more info on Pottery Wheels.

Rate brands and sample here or link to Supply section

Kiln: A kiln is essential an oven that bakes handmade pottery at extremely high temperatures often exceed 1400 degrees farenheit.  Kilns can be expensive especially for one that can hold more then a few large pieces of pottery.  Kilns range in price from.... - when developed, different types?  Best brands, used kilns etc?  anything helpful to someone looking for more info on kilns

Glaze: The substance applied to Pottery before the second firing.  The glaze is what gives the Pottery it's unique appearance, often a closely guarded secret of individual potter's.  Look at these vases to get a better appreciation of the impact and variety of glazes...  - work in process defintiion....

Clay: Without clay we would have no pottery. All pottery is made from some type of clay.  Clay being a natural substance varies from one geographic region to another.  There are many special types of clay... Atlanta Georgia is known for it's vibrant red clay while Poland has abundant natural white clay, the foundation for the world famous Polish Pottery.

Check back soon for more information specific to clay, where to buy clay for handmade pottery, more types of clay, tools to work with clay, etc.