Hard and brittle when cold, but workable with heat; valued for transparency, colour and the way it catches light.

Strong and durable; can be cut, bent, joined, textured and polished, and some metals can be cast or worked with heat.

What are found and recycled materials?

Existing or discarded objects and offcuts, reused and reworked, valued for their texture, history and sustainability.

Pourable materials that set hard and can be clear or coloured, used for casting, embedding and creating smooth or glossy surfaces.

Fibres, yarns and fabrics: flexible and tactile, worked by stitching, weaving, knitting, dyeing, printing and embellishing.

A natural material with grain and warmth; cut, carved, shaped, joined and finished, ranging from soft to hard.

Northern IrelandContemporary CraftsSyllabus dot point

What craft materials can you use, and how do their properties shape the processes and techniques you choose?

Craft materials and processes: ceramics, glass, metal, found and recycled materials, resins, textiles and wood, their properties, the techniques each suits, and working safely.

A focused CCEA GCSE Contemporary Crafts guide to craft materials and processes. Covers the range of media you can use, ceramics, glass, metal, found and recycled materials, resins, textiles and wood, the properties of each, the techniques and processes they suit, and the importance of working safely with tools and materials.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.814 min answerUpdated 2026-06-15

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page

Quick answer

Contemporary Crafts is about making from materials, so the core knowledge is the range of media, their properties, and the techniques each suits. CCEA lets you explore a wide range of materials: ceramics (plastic when wet, hard and glazeable when fired), glass (brittle cold but workable with heat, valued for transparency and colour), metal (strong, cut, bent, joined and polished), found and recycled materials (reused for texture, history and sustainability), resins (pourable, setting hard, used for casting and embedding), textiles (flexible and tactile, stitched, woven, dyed and printed) and wood (grained and warm, cut, carved, shaped and joined). Strong craft starts from an intention and chooses a material whose properties serve it, then selects processes the material suits, because material, technique and intention work together. Justifying a material through its properties evidences thoughtful design development, while exploring a range of media shows you can refine and select. Because craft processes use tools, heat, dust and chemicals, working safely is part of the subject, and recording the safe practices you followed shows responsible craftsmanship.

Jump to a section

What this dot point is asking
The range of craft materials
Matching material to intention
Matching process to material
Working safely
Try this

What this dot point is asking

Contemporary Crafts is about making things from materials, so the heart of the subject is knowing the range of materials you can use, the properties of each, and the techniques and processes each one suits. CCEA lets you explore and create from a wide range of materials, and a strong maker chooses material and process to fit an intention rather than at random. This page sets out the main media, what each is good for, and why working safely is part of the craft.

The range of craft materials

CCEA names a broad range of materials you can explore and create from. Each behaves differently, and that behaviour decides the techniques it suits.

Definition

Ceramics: Clay: soft and plastic when wet, shaped by hand or mould, hard and permanent once fired, and able to take glaze.
Glass: Hard and brittle when cold, but workable with heat; valued for transparency, colour and the way it catches light.
Metal: Strong and durable; can be cut, bent, joined, textured and polished, and some metals can be cast or worked with heat.
Found and recycled materials: Existing or discarded objects and offcuts, reused and reworked, valued for their texture, history and sustainability.
Resins: Pourable materials that set hard and can be clear or coloured, used for casting, embedding and creating smooth or glossy surfaces.
Textiles: Fibres, yarns and fabrics: flexible and tactile, worked by stitching, weaving, knitting, dyeing, printing and embellishing.
Wood: A natural material with grain and warmth; cut, carved, shaped, joined and finished, ranging from soft to hard.

You are not expected to master all of these. The skill is choosing the right material for the idea and learning the processes that material needs.

Matching material to intention

Strong craft starts from an intention and chooses a material whose properties serve it. If you want a hard, shaped, glazeable surface, clay suits; if you want something flexible, tactile and patterned, textiles suit; if you want to reuse and comment on waste, found and recycled materials suit. Naming why a material fits your idea, through its properties, is exactly what evidences thoughtful design development (AO1 and AO2). A material chosen at random, with no link to the intention, is a weaker decision.

Matching process to material

Each material suits particular techniques and processes, and part of the course is learning them.

Ceramics. Pinch, coil and slab-building, throwing, press-moulding, joining with slip, then bisque firing, glazing and glaze firing.
Textiles. Stitching and embroidery, weaving, knitting, applique, dyeing, printing and surface embellishment.
Wood. Measuring and marking out, cutting, carving, shaping, joining and finishing such as sanding and oiling.
Metal. Cutting, filing, bending, joining, texturing and polishing, with casting or heat work for some metals.
Glass, resins, found and recycled materials. Heat-forming or fusing glass; casting and embedding in resin; cleaning, cutting, combining and fixing found materials.

The point is that material and process go together: the technique you choose must suit the material, and both must serve the design.

Working safely

Craft processes use tools, heat, dust and chemicals, so health and safety is part of working with materials and an expected part of the Making component. Different processes carry different risks: sharp tools when carving wood, dust when sanding or working dry clay, heat in kilns and when working glass or metal, and fumes or skin contact with resins and adhesives. Sensible controls include using the right tool with guards, wearing appropriate protective equipment, ventilating the space, and following safe procedures for kilns and hot work. Recording the safe practices you followed in your learning file shows responsible craftsmanship.

Choosing material and process for an outcome

Work from intention to material to process, using a theme such as "the sea".

step Define the intention

Decide what your outcome should do or say, for example a vessel with a rough, eroded, salt-bleached surface that suggests weathering.

step Choose a material by its properties

Pick a material whose properties fit, such as clay, because it is plastic when wet, holds texture, and fires to a hard surface that takes a matt, broken glaze.

step Select matching processes

Choose techniques the material suits: coil or slab-build the form, score and slip to join, add surface texture, then bisque fire, glaze and glaze fire.

step Plan safe working

Note the hazards (clay dust, the kiln) and the controls (damp working and clean-up to limit dust, correct kiln procedure), recording them in your learning file.

Try this

Q1. Name four materials you can explore in CCEA GCSE Contemporary Crafts. [2 marks]

Cue. Any four: ceramics, glass, metal, found and recycled materials, resins, textiles, wood.

Q2. Why should you choose a material by its properties rather than at random? [2 marks]

Cue. Because the material's properties must serve the intention, and justifying the choice evidences thoughtful design development.

Q3. Give one hazard and one sensible control for a craft process of your choice. [2 marks]

Cue. For example, dust when sanding wood, controlled by ventilation and appropriate protective equipment; or kiln heat, controlled by following safe firing procedure.

Exam-style practice questions

Practice questions written in the style of CCEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.

Portfolio (materials)10 marksExplain how you would choose a material and matching process for a craft outcome on the theme of 'shelter'.

Show worked answer →

A materials question that rewards matching a material to your intention and to a suitable process, not picking one at random. Build the answer around properties.

Start from the intention: decide what the outcome needs to do or say, for example a small protective form with a hard, weatherworn surface.

Match material to property: choose a material whose properties suit that intention, such as clay for a hard, shaped, glazeable surface, and explain why its plasticity when wet and hardness when fired fit the idea.

Match process to material: select techniques the material suits, for instance coiling or slab-building, joining with slip, then bisque firing, glazing and glaze firing.

Judgement: a top answer justifies the choice through the material's properties and names the matching processes, showing you understand that material, technique and intention work together.

Learning file (safety)6 marksExplain why understanding health and safety is part of working with craft materials.

Show worked answer →

A safety question rewarding practical understanding, because craft processes use tools, heat, dust and chemicals.

Identify the risks: many craft processes carry hazards, such as sharp tools when carving wood, dust when sanding or working clay, heat in kilns and when working glass or metal, and fumes or skin contact with resins and adhesives.

Control the risks: explain sensible controls, such as using guards and the right tool, wearing appropriate protective equipment, ventilating the space, and following safe procedures for kilns and hot work.

Judgement: conclude that working safely protects you and others and is an expected part of the Making component, so a strong learning file records the safe practices you followed alongside the techniques you used.

Related dot points

Sources & how we know this

CCEA GCSE Contemporary Crafts specification — CCEA (2017)
CCEA GCSE Contemporary Crafts assessment — CCEA (2017)