Newbie Clay
NEWBIE CLAY is a brief guide with information to help you start on your clay journey, including video links for making, firing, and glazing your ceramic projects, definitions of common terms in clay, and guidance for choosing your materials. Download the PDF from the Files menu to get started. Have questions not covered in Newbie Clay or feedback for future versions? Please contact us at customercare@amaco.com or 1800-999-5456 or visit us on Facebook or Instagram @amacobrent.
What are cones?
Pyrometric cones (just referred to as cones) are ceramic material that are formulated to bend at a specific degree of heat work (temperature and time). Cones are used in firings to show the degree of heat work and are used as a kind of shorthand way of describing clays, glazes, and firings. Watch the video below to learn more about cones.
Wedging Clay
Before you begin forming with clay it's best to wedge the clay to compress it and remove any air pockets. Watch the video below to learn more about wedging.
Kiln basics
Loading and firing a kiln can be daunting but don't worry! We have a video series on loading, firing, and even maintaining kilns, geared for beginners. View to our video series on kiln basics.
Glazing tips and tricks
Our Top 5 tips for glazing.
Similar Lesson Plans
Super Simple Silkscreens: Printing with Underglazes
Help is on the way. In this workshop we will use common craft store materials to make frameless silk-screens to print onto clay.
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Press & Print on Moist Clay
In this video we demo how to make stamps to print and press on moist clay slabs creating texture and color at the same time. Once your slabs are textured, we demonstrate how to build simple cylinders which can be modified to create a wide variety of forms.
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