Today I trimmed a bunch of my work which I have thrown on the wheel. Trimming is the last stage before bisque firing. Work that is thrown on the wheel often needs to be trimmed or turned to make its thickness uniform and/or to form a foot on the piece. This process is done when the piece has stiffened enough to survive manipulation. This condition is called leather hard. As you can see by the picture, the finished work is placed upside down on the wheel and held into place by bits of soft clay so the piece does not fly off of the wheel. The piece is allowed to air dry until it is hard and dry to the touch. At this stage it is known as greenware. Items of greenware are very brittle but they can be handled with care. Greenware items are occasionally sanded with fine grade sandpaper to ensure a smooth finish in the completed item.
The greenware is often given a preliminary firing in a kiln. Once it has been fired the articles are known as biscuit ware or bisque.
