Pottery Class Singapore: The terms ‘pottery’ and ‘ceramics’ have been used loosely and interchangeably. So what exactly is the difference between these two?
What are ceramics?
By definition, ceramics are those things made from materials which are permanently changed when heated. For example, clay is first moulded into its desired form which becomes permanent after being heated and dipped into water.
Glazes, silica, zirconium oxide as well as all clay are classified as ceramic materials.
What is pottery?
By definition, Pottery is generally considered to be containers made from clay, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made by a potter is also called a pottery (plural "potteries").
Pottery has two main categories: Commercial pottery which are pottery/ceramics produced in massive numbers in factories, and studio pottery in which pottery is produced by individual artisans.
Other definitions and terms you’ll be curious about!
Ceramic artists: those who produce artwork using clay (Including those in Pottery Class Singapore) Clay artist: a subset of ceramic artists who may not necessarily fire their pieces
Ceramist: anyone who works with ceramic materials either industrially or as an individually, such as artists that gives Pottery Class Singapore
Ceramist engineer: those who deal with the science aspect (chemistry and physics) of ceramics Potter: an umbrella term that refers to any artisan using clay as their medium
Production potter: people who make a living by creating large numbers of functional pots in factories
Studio potters: potters who mainly create unique, one-off pieces. They may also be involved in production pottery.
Studio potters: often those who create one-off pieces but may also do production pottery
H/T Thesprucecrafts