“Pottery” refers to vessels made of clay, often by hand, that have been fired to high temperatures. Pottery can also be the name of the process to make these vessels or pots. Less commonly, pottery can also refer to the place where the pots are made.

Pottery is usually made these main steps: forming clay into a pot, bisque firing the pot, applying glaze to the pot, and then glaze firing the pot. There are many smaller steps in between and making up these larger steps. There are also many variations to each step.

There are many ways to make pottery. The main ways to form pottery include throwing on a pottery wheel, slab construction, coil building, slip casting, pressing, or simply pinching the clay with your hands. Pots can then be stamped, smoothed, carved or cut. Glaze can be applied by brushing, dipping, pouring, or spraying. Pots can then be fired to different temperatures in oxidation or reduction atmospheres in different kinds of kilns.

Pottery is a form of ceramics. Ceramics are usually clay based objects fired to a high temperature including sculpture, bricks, tiles, pots, and industrial materials. Pottery is functional or decorative pots made of clay.

Pottery can be fun for many reasons including the tactile feel of working with clay, the expressive or therapeutic nature of the process and materials, the opportunity to explore many variations and techniques, and the different styles of thinking that can be applied to the process. It can also be fun to use something that you made.

People make pottery for a number of reasons including enjoyment of the process, self expression, a source of income, gifts, stress relief, therapy, group bonding, or simply just to create a functional object. Professional potters make pottery as their job to earn a living.

The practice of making pottery is around 20,000 years old. From what has been discovered so far, pieces of pottery from Xianrendong Cave, China that have been dated to be made 19,000 to 20,000 years ago.

~18,000 BC. Pottery shards have been found and dated to be around 20,000 years old.

People collect pottery for a number of reasons such as an appreciation of the style or expression of the pots, a connection to the potter, as a souvenir or reminder, nostalgia, interior decoration, to learn more about the process, inspiration, status, or even stress relief.

A person who makes pottery regularly is called a potter. A potter may also be called a ceramic artist, clay artist, a ceramist, or a ceramicist. Pottery can be made by almost anyone.