Ten Basics of Firing Electric Kilns

Firing is the most critical part of the ceramics process because it is the one thing that makes clay durable,  …

The Irresistible Surface: Layering Pottery Glazes and Trapping Carbon to Create Loosely Geometric Repeating Patterns

As we all know, in ceramics, trial and error is an integral part of the learning process – and often  …

A Super Simple Analogy to Help You Understand Glaze Structure

Ceramic glazes consist of three main components: glass formers, fluxes, and refractories. If you can remember those, and familiarize yourself  …

Using Vinyl Masking and Sandblasting to Create Textured and Patterned Wood-Fired Pottery

In this article from the Ceramics Monthly archives, David Bolton explains and demonstrates his use of vinyl sign masking to add  …

Ceramic Stains: The Easy Way to Create All the Colors of the Rainbow on Your Pottery

Nowadays, ceramic artists are spoiled. It wasn’t that long ago that getting the colors and surfaces you wanted took a  …

A Pottery Paycheck: Expert Insights into Making a Living as a Potter

For many of us in the Ceramic Arts Network community, making pottery is something we wished we were doing more  …

Lichens and Lizards and Leopards, Oh My! Reticulated Glaze Recipes For Wild Ceramic Surfaces

Although glaze crawling – when glaze recedes away from an area in the firing, leaving bare clay – is often  …

How to Clean Kiln Shelves, Mix Kiln Wash, and Apply Kiln Wash

Kiln shelf maintenance is a much hated but very necessary part of having a kiln. Neglected kiln shelves can result  …

Trimming is Child’s Play

This Quick Tip comes to us from James Rozzi of Stone Mountain, Georgia. Here, Rozzi tackles trimming delicate narrow-necked bottle  …

Artist Q&A: Meet Giselle Hicks

Ceramics Monthly: What sparks your creativity?

Giselle Hicks: A visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, passages  …