Pottery making by hand is one way to make pottery items. Pottery items created from handmade pottery techniques are unique and distinctive. To make pottery by hand, one needs clay for the pottery and slurry. Slurry is a mixture of clay and water, and it is a liquid that is used to bind and blend the clay to create a work of art. Usually, when making pottery by hand, the artist starts out with a small amount and gradually builds the clay into a larger item, using the slurry to work the clay into the desired shape and size. There is a large amount of creative freedom in making pottery by hand because there is no goal of uniformity; rather, the focus is usually to create a distinctive, one-of-a-kind piece. Once the pottery is complete, the next step is to decorate, glaze and fire it.
Pottery can also be made by using a pottery wheel. A pottery wheel can be manual or electric. A manual pottery wheel uses a foot pedal that, when depressed, makes the wheel spin. The electric wheel automatically spins in one direction when the potter turns on the wheel. When making pottery with a pottery wheel, the technique is referred to as "throwing." Throwing involves the use of clay that is placed on the wheel and rotated. While the wheel rotates the clay, the potter "throws" the clay into shape by molding the clay, making a hole in the center, creating a flat or round base, shaping the clay if necessary, and pulling the clay in an upward motion.
To finish the pottery, it can be decorated with imprinted designs set into the still-wet pottery. In addition, it can be glazed, which is a process by which a wet, glasslike finish coating is applied to the pottery. The glaze not only acts as a design accent but also serves a protective function. Moreover, glaze can be colored and can add vibrancy to your pottery piece. It is important to note that the color of the fired glaze will not be identical to the color of the wet glaze.
The final step in completing the pottery is firing it. Firing is the process whereby the pottery is placed into a kiln and essentially is baked until it is dry. A kiln is a large device that can heat the pottery to temperatures up to 1500 degrees C. The kiln is turned on, and once the pieces are finished, they are left inside the kiln to cool. The entire firing process takes approximately 24 hours. Thereafter, once the kiln is cool, the pottery can be removed.