terra cruda

   In contrast to terra cotta, unfired clay. The difference is also this: a piece of terra cruda is more brittle, more easily crumbled, and can dissolve into mud if exposed to water, while a piece of terra cotta is harder to break, and will never again dissolve into mud. Works in terra cruda are more acceptable than in terra cotta when they are expected to be impermanent (temporary), or if they were produced by very young children for whom permanency is likely to be unimportant, or if firing the clay is too likely to cause it to break up.