The tremendous adaptability of the medium of clay as an art form is of special note, as well. Not only is clay a good medium for the artist who desires to work at a rapid pace, but it is also accommodating to the artist who desires to invest more time in each piece, provided that the artist tends the clay with water and plastic wrap, or stores the in-progress work in a wet-box. In addition to adapting to the pace of the artist, clay can adapt to a variety of construction methods, including the three hand-building techniques of pinching, coiling, and slab-building, as well as wheel throwing and slip-casting with molds. There are many different types of clay bodies from which the artist can select, including earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain, with each kind of clay having its own unique properties, such as density, color, and required firing temperature (Peterson & Peterson, 2009). Moreover, despite being one of the oldest forms of artistic media on earth, clay has consistently proven to be adaptable to the changing needs and technological advancements of society. For example, the same medium of clay that was used in prehistoric times to form food storage containers, such as the Jomon coil pots of 10,000 B.C., was later used to form functional wares in medieval Europe, as seen in French jugs from 1100 A.D., and is still being used today, all over the world, to form everyday essentials, ranging from plates to toilets (Peterson & Peterson, 2009, pp. 206 & 210). Some even higher-fired ceramics are currently being used to form spaceship panels and computer chips (Peterson & Peterson, 2009, pp. 13-14). While there are many benefits to using clay as an art form, there are even more benefits that can be experienced when clay is used in art education.
References
Peterson, S. & Peterson, J. (2009). Working with clay (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.