The use of Elaziğ - Uslu pottery clay in ceramic body, glazeand engobe

Anatolia has a rich history in terms of the centers which produce ceramic traditionally from Neolitic ages to today. Uslu village, which is in the District of Sivrice in the town of Elazığ and which has a hundred years? history according to the present sources, is one of the important centers of traditional pot production.In this study, it is aimed to make profitable use of the red clay as an alternative raw material within the bodies of ceramic engobe, body and glaze and to utilize it in different forms other than the traditional use. The mineralogic, physical and chemical features of the red clay in the Uslu village has been studied. It is determined that the clay, which shows a colour change from light tile colour to reddish brown between 1000-1160 0 C temperatures, can be used as an engobe raw material after grinding without the necessity for any other additions. When the clay of which dry resistance value is 39,12 kg/cm2 is used alone and in the stoneware body prescription, it has the special features of giving appropriate plastic ( half wet ) shapes. The red clay has formed glazing surfaces which have rich visual effects together with the flux which include boron, alkali and lead. For this reason, it is concluded that this raw material which has been used in classic pottery production for over than a century can also be used as engobe, body and glaze component.