Great pieces of art seem to possess a spirit of its own that draws us to them. The “spirit” of good pottery is no mere accident. It is the result of a harmonious bonding of elements of design & technique through the knowledge & creativity of the artist.
The journey from raw clay to the finished piece that proudly sits on your table is an interesting one with earth, water & fire playing a vital role. Clay is prepared to dough like consistency by adding water. The artist gives form to this lump of clay. It is dried thoroughly & then fired in a kiln. Once out of the kiln, the piece is glazed & again fired. This is the basic procedure.
There are many techniques at each step. Clay can have different compositions depending on the firing cycle & temperature. The potters’ wheel & hand building can give a variety of forms, which are upto your imagination and sky is the limit. There are many kinds of kilns & fuels that are used, like electric, gas, and wood etc. Glaze compositions again depend on the temperature required. The base of a glaze comprises of glass & the colours come from natural metal oxides like iron, copper, cobalt, and manganese etc. When this reaches a certain temperature in the kiln it melts & gives a glass finish to the piece.
A more detailed study on the basic procedures can be found in good books on ceramics. I would like to recommend:
Some good periodicals are: