Pottery is the ceramic ware made by potters. It also refers to a group of materials that includes earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. The places where such wares are made are called potteries.Pottery is made by forming a clay body into objects of a required shape and heating them to high temperatures in a kiln to induce reactions that lead to permanent changes, including increasing their strength and hardening and setting their shape. There are wide regional variations in the properties of clays used by potters and this often helps to produce wares that are unique in character to a locality. It is common for clays and other minerals to be mixed to produce clay bodies suited to specific purposes; for example, a clay body that remains slightly porous after firing is often used for making earthenware or terra cotta flower-pots.Depending on shaping method, there are a number of stages in the drying process of clay ware. Some processes do not require drying before firing. Leather-hard refers to the stage when the clay object is approximately 75-85% dry. Trimming and handle attachment occurs at the leather-hard state. A clay object is said to be "bone-dry" when it reaches a moisture content of near 0%. Unfired objects are often termed "greenware".
