What Is Greenware Pottery?
Pottery is the term for items made from clay. Greenware pottery is the name given to pottery at the dry stage, before it is fired---subjected to very high temperatures for some time---in a special oven called a kiln. Pottery items at this stage are fragile and can easily be broken.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
Pottery is one of the oldest human technologies, dating back to the dawn of primitive culture. The earliest kilns would have been simple fire pits in which early potters would have baked their greenware pottery.
Mixing the Clay
-
The first stage in making greenware pottery is to mix the raw clay with materials such as minerals and crushed fired clay that will make it more suitable for turning into pottery.
-
Forming the Pottery
-
The clay is shaped through various means---by hand, on a wheel, or in molds---then allowed to dry. The clay items are said to be "bone dry" when they have a moisture content of roughly 0%. This is the greenware stage.
Considerations
-
Most greenware pottery is destined to be fired in a kiln. It is not usually left as greenware pottery, as this is too porous and easily crumbled for most purposes.
After the Greenware Stage
-
Pottery that has been glazed and fired in a kiln is no longer described as greenware, but is termed "vitreous."
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit terracotta cats and birds image by Sean Wallace-Jones from Fotolia.com
