Shrinkage
Shrinkage occursÌýin the production of pottery and affects pottery at two stages in the process, during both drying and firing. During the drying stage, the wet clay loses its water and contracts, producing the first phase of shrinkage. Although a vessel may feel dry to the touch after drying in the open air for weeks, it still contains chemical water in its fabric and, therefore, the process of water loss and shrinkage continues during firing. The final dried-and-fired product, then, will be smaller than the vessel immediately after it was formed from wet clay.Ìý
Different clay bodies have different rates of shrinkage based on the amount of actual clay they contain. A potter must know the shrinkage rate of their c