Pottery
What is pottery?
Pottery is the art of forming clay into objects of a desired shape and often inducing them to high temperatures in a kiln to make permanent changes and setting their shape. For children to begin with, children can begin with clay which has a property of ‘plasticity’. This plasticity helps you to roll clay into various shapes and form various objects.
History of pottery in India
The origin of pottery in India dates back to the Neolithic age when coarse handmade pottery of various colors and shapes were made. Glazed pottery was introduced only during the 12th century AD with the advent of Muslim rulers in India. Today pottery in India is a fairly large business with hundreds of small and large scale industries making high class pottery.
Basic tools of pottery:
- Wedging wire
- Brushes
- Shaping tools
- Rolling tools cutting or piercing tools
- Finishing tools
- Potter’s wheel for advanced techniques
Basic techniques of pottery
Pinch Bowl:
This is probably the simplest of all the techniques in pottery. To make a bowl you need to take a ball of clay in your hand and press it in the center with your thumb. You then need to pinch up the walls. By turning the piece while pinching will help you keep an even thickness in the walls of the piece. You can then gently pat the bottom to form a flat surface.
Coil Construction:
Make two coils by squeezing or rolling the clay between two hands. Place it on an even surface and gently roll the clay back and forth. Stack coils on one upon the other and force the clay together on the inside. You need to use your finger and scrap the top coil onto the coil beneath it.
Pressed coiled pots:
In this technique, you have to make coils and press them into a pattern.
Slab Construction:
In slab construction, you need to put various slabs together to make a wonderful piece of pottery.
Methods of shaping:
There are two important methods of shaping: handwork or handbuilding and the potter’s wheel. Handwork or handbuilding is the earliest form ofpottery where different wares are constructed by hand using coils of clay, flat slabs or solid balls of clay. Though it takes a lot of time, you have the liberty on the shape and size of the product.
Potter’s Wheel:
Potter’s wheel is used for mass production where a ball of clay is placed at the centre of the turntable which the potter rotates with a stick or foot power.