Pottery Business: How to Make Clay Pots

Another thriving industry is pottery making. In response to the increasing demand for flower pots and vases from the cutflower and ornamental plant sectors, pottery making is fast becoming one of the potential investment areas awaiting investors for its expansion.

Pottery is made of clay that is permanently hardened by firing in a kiln. The nature and type of pottery is determined by the composition of the clay and the way it is prepared; the temperature at which it is fired; and the glazes used

Types of Pottery

Easier – Pottery are objects that are first shaped of wet clay, then hardened by baking. Pottery includes both decorative and practical items such as bowls, vases, dishes, and lamps.

Harder – Pottery is a decorative or useful ware made of baked clay. Pottery includes valuable works of art, inexpensive dinnerware, vases, and other simple household items, all made by professional potters. The word pottery also refers to the factory that makes pottery. Pottery ware is part of a larger product group called ceramics that encompasses bricks, cement, sewer pipes, and other industrial products. Four steps are needed to make a pottery product: preparing the clay mixture, shaping the clay, decorating and glazing the item, and firing (baking). The firing temperature gives pottery its finished appearance and its strength.

There are three major pottery types: (1) earthenware, (2) stoneware, and (3) porcelain. Each type is distinguished by its clay mixture and the temperature at which it is baked or fired. Earthenware is a pottery clay mixture that is fired at a lower temperature. The low baking temperature allows the use of colorful glazes, but also yields a pottery that cracks and chips more easily than other types. Stoneware pottery is made of a heavier clay mixture that gives it greater strength. Stoneware is fired at a much higher temperature to give a harder finish. Porcelain is the purest and the most delicate type of pottery. It is formed from koalin, a fine white clay, that is mixed with controlled amounts of feldspar and flint and then fired at a low temperature.

Pottery Making Tutorial (with actual pictures)

1. Making Pinch Pots
2. Making Coil Pots
3. Making Pressed Coil Pots
4. Making Slab Pots
5. Throwing on the Wheel:
   • Step 1 – Centering the Clay
     
   • Step 2 – Making the Opening
   • Step 3 – Pulling up the Walls
   • Step 4 – Trimming the Base
6. Making and Attaching Handles

Download mini-eBook tutorial

sources: jhpottery.com, infoplease.com, archaeolink.com, members.tripod.com/kengeorgepottery, howtomakepottery.com, picture from terragalleria.com