Standard art-grade clay is malleable when wet and hard and brittle when dry. Once clay has been sculpted into its desired form, it is dried and then fired in a kiln, making it harder and stronger than it was before it went into the kiln. ??
In order to fire clay in the kiln, it must be completely dry, the walls cannot be more than 1 inch thick, and there can be no pockets of air trapped in the clay. Any of these rules that are not followed could cause the clay to explode in the kiln.??
Before you begin a sculpture or pot, you must wedge the clay (knead it) in order to rid the clay of any air bubbles that could explode in the kiln. ??
To attach two pieces of wet clay during the creation process, the clay is scored together. To score the clay, the artist makes hatch marks on each piece of clay, in the area where the clay pieces will touch. Next, the artist paints a thin layer of water over the hatch marks. Finally, the two pieces of clay are attached and smoothed together.
Pinch pots start with a ball of clay that fits in the palm of the artist's hand. The artist pushes his thumb through the ball of clay, and stops before the thumb penetrates to the other side. Then the artist pinches the clay in his hand, between his fingers and thumb. The artist rotates the clay and pinches again, then rotates the clay and pinches again, until the hole in the center of the clay widens and the walls become thin. ?
The second type of pot is made out of large clay slabs. The artist rolls out a slab of clay with a rolling pin and then cuts the slab to the appropriate shape. Several slabs may be cut to form the bottom and sides of the pot being made. The slabs of clay are then scored together to form the shape of pot that the artist is trying to make.
Coil pots are the third type of pot. Coils are long, snake-shaped segments of clay made by the artist. The coils are laid down on a clay base. Each layer is built on the subsequent layer, and as the coils build up, the walls of the pot are formed.
Pottery may also be created on the potter's wheel. A wet lump of clay is placed on a horizontal spinning wheel. The artist controls the speed at which the wheel spins and shapes the lump of clay in her hands. By forming a hole in the center of the clay and by building up the sides, the artist creates a smooth, symmetrical vessel.