Pottery

clay crafts · ancient art · fire and heat

Clay gets hard. When potters shape wet clay and heat it in a special oven called a kiln at very high temperatures, the clay transforms into something tough and waterproof that lasts for thousands of years.

Many different uses. Pottery isn't just pretty bowls and vases. People make plates for eating, decorative art, bathroom tiles, electrical insulators for power lines, and even laboratory equipment that scientists use.

Fire does the magic. The heat from the kiln is what makes pottery special. Without it, the shaped clay would just crumble apart like dried mud, but fire locks everything together permanently.

Ancient and timeless. Pottery is one of humanity's oldest crafts, created thousands of years ago by ancient civilizations. Archaeologists study ancient pottery to learn how people lived long ago.

Shaped by hand. A potter uses their hands, a spinning wheel, or molds to shape wet clay into vessels and objects before the kiln does its work.