What is Pottery?

pottery

Pottery is a form of art that involves shaping clay. It can be made by hand or with a wheel. There are many different types of pottery and each type was used for a specific purpose. The shapes and colors of pottery can tell us about a culture. Pottery is also an important part of archaeological investigations because it can help determine relative wealth. For example, the size of a pot or jar can indicate how much food was stored or consumed at an archeological site.

The first step in making pottery is to prepare the clay by de-airing and de-moisturizing it. The clay is then either kneaded or rolled out on a flat surface into a pancake shape to make a base for the pot. Then coils of clay are rolled out with your hands to build up the walls of the pot. Once the wall thickness is what you want you can then cut out your desired shape and then use a rib tool to smooth the walls of the pot.

To make the pottery durable it needs to be fired in a kiln. The firing changes the chemical and physical makeup of the clay to make it hard. The firing process takes a long time so it was only available to the elite. However, modern kilns can be very efficient so pottery makers now have more options than in the past.

A potter can embellish their work with paints that contain powdered metal oxides. These can create beautiful colors but are not good for humans or animals to ingest or touch because they are toxic. Ceramic artist Andile Dyalvane uses his work to express a spiritual bond with his Xhosa ancestors as well as communicate his recovery journey.

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