CERAMIC

Ceramics or pottery is the technique or art of making objects with clay mixtures of various compositions (quartz, feldspar, gypsum, flint, ball clay, kaolin) baked in the final desired shape. Widespread since the prehistoric era and found in almost every place inhabited by man, pottery is one of the most important expressions of art that includes a vast range of products such as vases, sculptures and architectural elements. The technique involves preparation of the mixture, modeling (by hand, using a potter’s weel or a mould), drying various types of water –proofing processes and decoration that can be a carving before firing or graffito after the first diring, relief work or painting. There are various types of ceramics, depending on the composition of the mixture and the firing temperature: terracotta, porcelain, majolica, grès.