The process of giving shape to the raw materials of ceramics. It can be broadly classified into three types: handmade on a potter’s wheel, wheel-thrown molding, pouring molding, molding by a press, and extrusion molding. Handmade, hand twisting, and hand kneading are the most primitive and simple methods, and are completely done by hand without the use of machinery of any kind. To make large vessels, one can use methods such as piling up twisted clay. There are also methods using wooden or clay molds. There is also the method of using baskets. There are three types of potter’s wheels: the hand wheel, the kick wheel, and the machine wheel. Nagashikomi, also called casting, is a method of molding by pouring plaster into a mold using the characteristics of plaster. Press molding is a method of molding by pressing into a mold using mechanical force, and includes dry, semi-dry, and wet molding. In the extrusion molding method, clay is extruded by a roller and a mold is attached to the exit of the roller.
