What is Clay?

1. What is Clay?

2. Stages of clay • Raw clay is wet clay. You can mold it. • Greenware is clay that is air dried • Bisqueware is clay that has been fired • once. • Glazeware has a coating of glass that melts and makes the outside of clay smooth and interesting

3. This is where your clay comes from.

4. Silica

5. Clay is a fine-grained natural rock or soil material that combines one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. • Clays are plastic due to their water content and become hard, brittle and non–plastic upon drying or firing. • Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure. • Depending on the content of the soil, clay can appear in various colors, from white to dull gray or brown to a deep orange-red.

8. Pinch Pots • A pinch pot is a simple form of hand-made pottery produced from ancient times to the present. • The pinching method is a means to create pottery that can be ornamental or functional, and has been widely employed across cultures and times. • Simple clay vessels such as bowls and cups of various sizes can be formed and shaped by hand using a methodical pinching process in which the clay walls are thinned by pinching them with thumb and forefinger.

9. How to make a pinch pot.

10. Animal Pinch Pots.

13. Look through books to find an animal which inspires you. • Brainstorm ideas by drawing all four sides of your animal pinch pot in your art journal. • Think about what your animal will look from all angles. • Make sure you include all details.

14. Expectations • You will draw your project idea in pencil in your sketchbook • Your project will have a realistic animal head, tail and legs or appendages • You will follow the rules of attaching the pieces. • You will clean up your workspace every period