The Art of Making Pottery

Pottery is a remarkably durable and versatile medium. Whether it’s used for making everyday household items like cups, bowls and plates or to create decorative objects that add warmth and beauty to any room, it has served as an integral part of human culture throughout history.

Potters use a mixture of clay and water to form an object in the desired shape. This pliable material can take the shape imposed upon it and holds that shape even when dry. Its natural plasticity allows for very complex and sculptural forms. Clay can also be hardened through firing into a brittle but otherwise virtually indestructible material that is impervious to water.

Clay is usually mixed with a small amount of other materials to make it more workable, such as feldspar, silica, grog and other minerals. Potters then apply glazes to their creations. Glazes consist of silica, which converts the raw pottery into a glasslike material that is impervious to water; flux, which fuses the clay to the glaze; and a colorant that consists of metallic oxides such as antimony (yellows), copper (green, blue or red), lead, nickel, cobalt, and chrome.

Pottery is traditionally made by handwork or by throwing on a potter’s wheel. This is a labor-intensive process that requires a great deal of patience and practice, as a slight misstep can send the clay spinning in the wrong direction. It is believed that the first pottery wheels were developed around 3500 BCE. Since then, the potter’s wheel has allowed for greater and greater speed of production.

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