Ceramics is the Greek work meaning "pottery".  Ceramics are produced from clay mixed with various tempers, shaped and fired in a heat chamber.  Most developed countries have a long history of ceramic art and the ceramics or pottery is often all that is left of a culture that no longer exits.   

Early pots were made by coiling long strips of clay and winding them around to form a shape.  The "potter's wheel" was introduced 6,000 years BCE and spread throughout the world. Today contemporary clay artists use various techniques to make clay constructions, including the slab-built method.  Slabs of clay are used to create shapes that could never be produced using a wheel or coiling.   

All of these techniques are represented in the work of four New Mexico artists. Our material culture is continuing to be formed; distinguishing us from each other in unique pieces of art made of clay.