Specifications

Hard Bisque - Term given to bisque that is fired to its hottest
temperature before it goes liquid.
Harmonious - A color scheme chosen by some numerical sequence.
Haze - A cloudy deposit on gold or luster cause by insufficient
ventilation during firing.
Horizon Line - Point at which sky and land or water seem to
meet, at sea level.
Horizontal - Parallel to the horizon.
Hot Spot - Any area in the kiln that fires to a hotter cone than the
rest of the kiln.
Hump - A plaster shape on which a clay slab can be draped to
make a free form bowl or dish.
Hydrometer - A device to measure the density of a liquid.
Immature Bisque - Bisque which has not been fired to the proper
temperature to mature the clay and drive all carbons and impurities
from the ware.
Impervious - Cannot be penetrated.
Incise - To cut into the clay or greenware surface making a design.
Incompatibility - Ceramic materials that cannot be used together
because of undesirable chemical reactions.
Insulating Brick - A soft refractory brick which can be easily
carved and is used to line hobby kilns. Both firebrick and
insulating brick are available in different degrees of refractoriness
and should be chosen according to the temperature they must
withstand.
Intaglio - An incised design in which the carving is done in
several depths.
Jiggering - Forming a pot between a revolving mold which shapes
the outside and a template which shapes the inside.
Kaolin - A clay used for whiteness in some clay bodies; main
ingredient in porcelain.
Key - Notches cut on the seams of a mold so that the sections will
always fit in the same manner.
Kidney - See rubber kidney.
Kiln - A heating chamber for maturing clay glazes and other
ceramic materials.
Kiln Furniture - See furniture.
Kiln Wash - A refractory coating for kiln shelves to protect them
from dripping glaze.
Knead - To condition clay.
Lace Tool - A tool with a needle tip to facilitate the arrangement of
lace on a figurine.
Lawn - To sift dry color through closely woven material.
Leach - To cause (a liquid) to filter down through some material; to
extract a soluble substance from some material (as lead leached
from glaze by an acidic liquid - i.e. orange or tomato juice).
Lead Safe - A glaze that has been tested and meets government
standards as safe for food and drink containers.
Leatherhard - Cast or handbuilt pieces that are firm enough to
hold their shape without warping, but can still be cut into easily;
stick-ons can still be attached.
Liner - A long bristle pointed brush used for lines and scrolls.
Lint-free - Any cloth that does not produce lint; silk, old sheeting,
etc.
Lock Washer - Washer used to keep nuts from loosening.
Loading - Filling the brush with color; stacking the kiln.
Luster - An overglaze that gives a lustrous iridescent finish to
glazed ware.
Luting - Joining leatherhard clay sections together with slip.
Majolica - Glaze on glaze decoration.
Marbleizing - Creating the effect of marble with any color
medium.
Masking - Blocking out sections of a design that are to to be
painted.
Matte - A dull, non-reflective surface; the opposite of glossy.
Maturity - In ceramics, bisque that has been fired to the point
where it will no longer expand when absorbing moisture; point
where underglaze, glaze and overglaze reveal their true color and
state (gloss, matte, etc.)
Maturing Point - Temperature where the clay or color becomes
fully developed.
Medium - Fluid used with colors to facilitate painting.
Mender - A product to repair broken greenware, or attach stick-ons.
Migrate - Tendency of certain glazes to travel to neighboring
pieces during firing; caused by the chrome in the coloring; referred
to as Flashing, Fuming or Shadowing.
Mildew - A fungus that produces dark spots on damp molds when
they are stored without sufficient air circulation; can cause molds
to deteriorate rapidly. Also dark spots developing under glaze on
china that was not glaze and or fired properly.
Mishima - Inlaid slip decoration
Modeling Clay - Clay used for hand building or throwing.
Mold - A plaster form used to produce identical objects by pouring
liquid slip into the hollow cavity, then draining.
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Glossary