POTTERY
INDIAN HANDICRAFTS – POTTERY
Pottery Hand Art is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called “potteries”. Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery. It is a very old and traditional rural Indian Handicraft.
The definition of pottery art used by ASTM means “all fired ceramic wares that contain clay when formed, except technical, structural, and also refractory products”. Some archaeologists use a different understanding by excluding ceramic objects such as figurines which are made by similar processes, materials and the same people but are not vessels.
Pottery art work is made by forming the clay body into objects of a required shape and heating them to high temperatures in a kiln which removes all water from the clay, which induces reactions that lead to permanent changes including increasing their strength and hardening and setting their differnt shape. A clay body can be decorated before or after firing and some shaping processes. Kneading helps to ensure an even moisture content throughout the body. Air trapped within the clay body needs to be removed.
