THE MAGIC POTTERY

What is pottery?
• Pottery is clay that is hardened by
fire.  Pottery comes from the greek
work, keramos which means, "potter's
clay". 
 The first pots
a s b e e n fo u n d in the were large bo
Pottery h fo
formed by takin wls,
ncient ing a lu
remains of every a and makin lump of cllaay
ing a bowl shape
izati o n . T h e o lde st known . Pottery
civil doesn't jju ust include p
o f p o tte r y w a s fo
fo und in ots, but
piec e anything made
o
ck tto
China and dates ba holld
d thin
from cla lay that can
lmost ings, such as jju
7,900 B.C. Thatt''ss a cups. Pottery ugs, vases and
10,000 yearrss ago! waterr,, milk, see
was used to
hold
ds and grains.
Later, people learned to mix different clays together to
make stronger pottery and to put the pottery in a fire
oven so the clay would harden faster. The potter's
wheel was invented in China around 3,100 B.C. The
wheel spins clay like a top.  It allowed people to make
pottery much more quickly and make shapes that were
perfectly symmetrical - bowls that were really round,
rather than lumpy or uneven.
STEPS OF MAKING
POTTERY
 Step 1.
A potter first must find the proper clay and
clean it to make it usable (if the artist buys
clay at a store he can skip this whole step.) 
 Step 2:
The next step is to actually form the
object.  This can be done by throwing on a
potter's wheel.  Throwing means shaping a
big hunk of clay by spinning it on a potter's
wheel.  It can also be done with a mold.
 STEP 3:
After the object is shaped, it is ready for firing. 
How hot the fire is depends on if the object is going
to be pottery
(1,400 degrees F.) , porcelain (2,700 degrees F.)  It
is fired in a kiln.
 Step 4 :
There are many different kinds of glazes. 
Under glaze decoration (the design) is
painted on after first firing.  Then it is
glazed before the second firing.
 N G AL L E RY
T E RY D E S IG
POT
Linear: These ceramic Geometric: These pottery designs are
patterns include stripes, interesting arrangements of
checks, diagonals etc. geometric shapes
Floral: These are patterns of Animal and human figures
flowers, leaves, vines, creepers,
stems, trees etc.

Scenic: These patterns on pottery include

landscapes, seascapes etc.