Ceramics

Ceramics can be defined as heat-resistant, nonmetallic, inorganic solids that are (generally) made up of compounds formed from metallic and nonmetallic elements. Although different types of ceramics can have very different properties, in general ceramics are corrosion-resistant and hard, but brittle.

An easy-to-understand introduction to ceramic materials, such as pottery, porcelain, and glass.

Ceramic' comes from the Greek word meaning pottery'. Today, the term ceramic' has a more expansive meaning. It includes non clay-based advanced ceramics, which are being increasingly used in engineering and medicine.

Ceramics is one of the most ancient industries on the planet. Once humans discovered that clay could be dug up and formed.

Emily Reason, author of Ceramics for Beginners: Wheel Throwing, shows you how to throw a bowl on the wheel.

If you are having someone else fire your work, you only need to know what cone you want it fired to, and whether it is a bisque firing or a glaze firing. Bisque firing means it is the first firing where clay is changed to ceramic. The glaze firing is a second firing where color and shine are added to the item. I single fire many of the simple items I sculpt. Meaning I apply color and glaze right to the dry clay. It is then bisque fired and completed in one firing. Single firing is usually regarded as less consistent and prone to problems for pottery. But sculptures seldom need to meet the durability of pots, and the variation in color or slight crackle in the glaze, are not really a problem for many items.

When many potters or ceramic artists think of slip, they think of it as the "glue" that is used to attach one piece of clay to another. But slip is one of those ceramic items that has many different functions - from slipping and scoring, to slip casting forms to decorating, slip is an essential tool for the pottery studio. Today, potter Judi Munn gives us a primer on slip trailing, one of the ways potters and ceramic artists can use slip as a decorative element in their work. Follow these simple guidelines to create lovely slip-trailed decoration on your own work

See frame by frame all the steps required to throw a pot on the pottery wheel the way it is thought at Lakeside Pottery - tutorial, lesson and illustrations.

Wikipedia's information about cermaic art.

CeramicArtsDaily is an online community serving active potters and ceramic artists worldwide, as well as those who are interested in finding out more about this craft.