One of the interesting side effects of modern times and the advent of the digital age, is the amount of free time that is available to people. Before the industrial revolution, and the invention of electricity and machining processes, most people worked form the time that the sun came up until the sun went down. These days, with the help of automated systems made possible by computers, people in the United States have found a lot of free time on their hands that they might not have had had just a hundred years ago. One of the best things that you can do with this time is take up a hobby like pottery.
Though the production of pottery used to be solely for personal use and later commercial purposes, in fact great part of the history of pottery is prehistoric and part of past pre literate cultures, these days a lot of people undertake the craft as a hobby. If you have never thrown a pot or a vase then you might want to try a pottery wheel for beginners so that you can get in on the action. Though many beginners to the craft will begin my learning how while the make very simple vases, bowls and pots, those who are more advanced in the practice can make a whole host of different things using quite a few interesting techniques. Some of those interesting techniques include shaping the pottery by a range whole of methods like hand shaping, injection molding, casting, and the more traditional throwing on a potter’s wheel. While some of these techniques require specialized pottery supplies, that a beginner will buy for their first lesson.
Though many people who are new to pottery might confuse pottery and ceramics as being the same thing, they actually have different properties. A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Pottery is quite similar, but is usually made with organic materials rather than the inorganic materials that are required to make ceramics.
Pottery earthenwares are normally fired at temperatures in the range of about 1,830 °F to 2,190 °F in a special kiln. This sometimes dangerous process is what makes it necessary for most beginners to take a class before they decide to take up pottery on their own.
Whether you are just looking for something to get you out of the house and away from the television or computer on the weekends or you are interested in becoming a part of a millennia of tradition, find a pottery studio near you and start taking classes as soon as you can.