Page 22 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

3: Ceramic products
(Below) Pots, bowls, cups, and plates can all be whitewares. But they may also be earthenware, stoneware, or porcelain depending on how they were made.
In the previous chapter we looked at the basic stages of making any ceramic. We ended by explaining the use of a glass (glazed) surface coat. In this chapter we look in more detail at some of the products of the ceramics industry.
The ceramics industry has a wide range
of names for the materials it produces, and
some are associated with the type of product manufactured. You will see this as we begin the chapter with the great range of products that can all be grouped under the term “whitewares,” not all of which are white!
Whitewares
By “whitewares” we mean ceramics that have a white or off-white colour (unless specifically coloured) and have been considerably vitrified to make them watertight. They include an enormous range of products from toilet bowls and sinks to cups and saucers, to dentures, and spark-plug ceramics.
All of these products have important properties in common: They are impermeable and so do not let liquids through; they do not react with liquids; they can be formed into complicated shapes; and they are electrical insulators.
To create these properties, it is important both to choose the correct materials and to go through the correct kind of firing.
Although the materials used for whitewares – clay, sand, and feldspar – may seem simple,
the exact nature of the three materials and their blending is very important, and there are differences between the types of product they can be made into.
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