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Hello fellow clay lover!
Chances are, if you are reading this, you have a touch of the “clay bug” (or possibly even full-on “clay fever!”). I remember my first pottery class. The second I touched this amazing material, I was truly hooked. I spent any spare moment I could in the studio determined to make clay a permanent part of my life.
I think a lot of potters have similar stories to mine and once they start making pottery, they try to get their hands on any information they can find to help build skills and confidence. When you first touch clay, there’s a good chance you’ll never want to put it down. If you poke your head into a ceramics class at a community craft center, you’ll see a happy group of people engrossed in thrill of creating with their hands. Unlike a smart phone app, music download, or video game, once you possess a pottery technique, it’s yours for life.
We put together our freebie Pottery 101: Beginning Pottery Projects and Equipment Lists with people like this in mind! It’s filled with great information on the fundamentals of pottery making that will help you get started on the right foot. Download it right now, and start building your mastery of clay!
From equipment lists to getting started to making pinch pots to throwing on the wheel, you’ll find a ton of useful information on how to make pottery in this free download.
This freebie is designed to help you …
Gain a head start on ceramic art skills, even if you’re a complete beginner
Learn basic pottery techniques that will stay with you forever
Understand the properties of clay through a variety of projects
Master more complicated techniques such as throwing
Achieve the results you envision with every single project
Enjoy making pottery to the fullest and fulfill your creative vision
How to make pottery you’ll want to keep!
There is definitely a big learning curve with clay, and lots of early attempts end up in the slop bucket. But this download includes accessible projects that will help you gain confidence quickly. You’ll learn how to use a simple Chinet paper plate as a mold for slab building a plate of your own. Not only will this project help you get the feel for clay, but a plate makes a great canvas for decoration and you’ll learn how to use slip, stencils, and even found objects like lace or necklaces to add imagery and texture.
You’ll be able to move forward quickly, too. With crystal-clear instructions and helpful photographs, every step is easy to follow, and there are dozens of tips and tricks from our professional instructors to help you avoid common beginner mistakes and create pieces that you’ll be proud of in no time.
You see, no one can teach you how to make pottery like Ceramic Arts Network! We’re an extensive, experienced online resource created for the benefit of potters and ceramic artists worldwide. Our website and all of our products feature both renowned and emerging artists, sharing their work, techniques, and artistic perspectives. Regular features include tips and techniques designed to help every artist expand their skill set and widen their artistic horizons.
Additionally, when you download Pottery 101: Beginning Pottery Projects and Equipment Lists, you’ll become a member of the Ceramic Arts Network community, in which each person can contribute to the growth of their own and others’ skills. Your skills will be continually enhanced with daily instruction and tips in our newsletter, Ceramic Arts Daily, and you can join in on the discussion in our forums as much as you like!
Discover expert techniques in How to Make Pottery
You can’t make great pots without clay and this guide gives you clear instructions both for mixing small batches by hand, and for using a mechanical mixer for larger batches. Even if you plan to buy clay premixed from a supplier, this article includes great information that will help you understand your clay. Did you know that bacteria multiplies in clay if you let it sit for a week or so? And that this is actually a good thing?
Here are all the skills you’ll acquire when you read Pottery 101: Beginning Pottery Projects and Equipment Lists:
Getting started equipment lists
Throwing a perfect cylinder
Making coil pottery
Making easy slab plates
Making pinch pitchers
Stenciling
Adding texture
Glazing
And all of these skills are explained to you by some of the best ceramic artists in the field, who make sure to include tips, tricks and pitfalls to avoid, which they’ve learned from years of experience. All these tips add up to better results for you in the studio! Here’s a sampling of the tips you’ll find in How to Make Pottery:
Did you know that oils or lotions from your hands can resist glaze? Try wearing a clean pair of disposable gloves when you glaze to avoid bad adhesion.
Trying to build up a coil pot? Before adding more coils, trim off a thin layer of clay. This removes the dry outer skin, revealing a slightly more malleable area on which to add a coil.
Success in ceramic arts is in the details, and as you can see, we’ve covered a lot of critical details. Download this free guide right now!
What’s included in Pottery 101: Beginning Pottery Projects and Equipment Lists
To give you a complete idea of the contents of this useful free guide, here are all the sections included:
Getting Started: Equipment Lists
Clay Slab Project: Plates
Pinched Pitchers
Throwing: A 3-Stage Approach
How to Glaze
Each one of these sections will help you become a more accomplished ceramic artist. Even if you are enrolled in a class or have watched online videos, the instructions in this are a perfect complement. The detailed illustrations on which specific direction you should be pushing when centering, how to position your hands when opening and pulling up the walls, and how the clay will respond to all of it will help reinforce what you have learned. With this informative and beautifully illustrated guide, you’ll be well on your way to mastering the wheel in no time.
Or perhaps you’ll get new inspiration for decorating your work when you see the intriguing ideas included in our section on making slab plates – painting a design with glaze and a stencil, or using a crushed plastic bag to create an interesting texture, for example.
So, if you are eager to learn as much as you can about making pots, download Pottery 101: Beginning Pottery Projects and Equipment Lists! The price is certainly right – FREE! And it’s the perfect resource for starting or enhancing your early efforts in the ceramic arts. Remember, everything in this guide comes from people who were beginners once too, so they know where the struggles lie. And most importantly, they know how to overcome them!
Download the free guide right now, and become a better ceramic artist tomorrow. That’s our promise to you from Ceramic Arts Network!
Best regards,
Jennifer Poellot Harnetty Editor, Ceramic Arts Network
Return to:
How to download your Freebie
Click the orange "Download" button to get your copy of this free guide! If you don't see the orange "Download" button below, click "Log in or sign up" button to log in or set up your free Ceramic Arts Network account!
Get more than 25 FREE downloadable guides with recipes, techniques, and studio references—exclusive to Ceramic Arts Network! Sign up or log in to download your Freebie, and you will also receive a free subscription to our email newsletters!
Hello fellow clay lover!
Chances are, if you are reading this, you have a touch of the “clay bug” (or possibly even full-on “clay fever!”). I remember my first pottery class. The second I touched this amazing material, I was truly hooked. I spent any spare moment I could in the studio determined to make clay a permanent part of my life.
I think a lot of potters have similar stories to mine and once they start making pottery, they try to get their hands on any information they can find to help build skills and confidence. When you first touch clay, there’s a good chance you’ll never want to put it down. If you poke your head into a ceramics class at a community craft center, you’ll see a happy group of people engrossed in thrill of creating with their hands. Unlike a smart phone app, music download, or video game, once you possess a pottery technique, it’s yours for life.
We put together our freebie Pottery 101: Beginning Pottery Projects and Equipment Lists with people like this in mind! It’s filled with great information on the fundamentals of pottery making that will help you get started on the right foot. Download it right now, and start building your mastery of clay!
From equipment lists to getting started to making pinch pots to throwing on the wheel, you’ll find a ton of useful information on how to make pottery in this free download.
This freebie is designed to help you …
How to make pottery you’ll want to keep!
There is definitely a big learning curve with clay, and lots of early attempts end up in the slop bucket. But this download includes accessible projects that will help you gain confidence quickly. You’ll learn how to use a simple Chinet paper plate as a mold for slab building a plate of your own. Not only will this project help you get the feel for clay, but a plate makes a great canvas for decoration and you’ll learn how to use slip, stencils, and even found objects like lace or necklaces to add imagery and texture.
You’ll be able to move forward quickly, too. With crystal-clear instructions and helpful photographs, every step is easy to follow, and there are dozens of tips and tricks from our professional instructors to help you avoid common beginner mistakes and create pieces that you’ll be proud of in no time.
You see, no one can teach you how to make pottery like Ceramic Arts Network! We’re an extensive, experienced online resource created for the benefit of potters and ceramic artists worldwide. Our website and all of our products feature both renowned and emerging artists, sharing their work, techniques, and artistic perspectives. Regular features include tips and techniques designed to help every artist expand their skill set and widen their artistic horizons.
Additionally, when you download Pottery 101: Beginning Pottery Projects and Equipment Lists, you’ll become a member of the Ceramic Arts Network community, in which each person can contribute to the growth of their own and others’ skills. Your skills will be continually enhanced with daily instruction and tips in our newsletter, Ceramic Arts Daily, and you can join in on the discussion in our forums as much as you like!
Discover expert techniques in How to Make Pottery
You can’t make great pots without clay and this guide gives you clear instructions both for mixing small batches by hand, and for using a mechanical mixer for larger batches. Even if you plan to buy clay premixed from a supplier, this article includes great information that will help you understand your clay. Did you know that bacteria multiplies in clay if you let it sit for a week or so? And that this is actually a good thing?
Here are all the skills you’ll acquire when you read Pottery 101: Beginning Pottery Projects and Equipment Lists:
And all of these skills are explained to you by some of the best ceramic artists in the field, who make sure to include tips, tricks and pitfalls to avoid, which they’ve learned from years of experience. All these tips add up to better results for you in the studio! Here’s a sampling of the tips you’ll find in How to Make Pottery:
Did you know that oils or lotions from your hands can resist glaze? Try wearing a clean pair of disposable gloves when you glaze to avoid bad adhesion.
Trying to build up a coil pot? Before adding more coils, trim off a thin layer of clay. This removes the dry outer skin, revealing a slightly more malleable area on which to add a coil.
Success in ceramic arts is in the details, and as you can see, we’ve covered a lot of critical details. Download this free guide right now!
What’s included in Pottery 101: Beginning Pottery Projects and Equipment Lists
To give you a complete idea of the contents of this useful free guide, here are all the sections included:
Each one of these sections will help you become a more accomplished ceramic artist. Even if you are enrolled in a class or have watched online videos, the instructions in this are a perfect complement. The detailed illustrations on which specific direction you should be pushing when centering, how to position your hands when opening and pulling up the walls, and how the clay will respond to all of it will help reinforce what you have learned. With this informative and beautifully illustrated guide, you’ll be well on your way to mastering the wheel in no time.
Or perhaps you’ll get new inspiration for decorating your work when you see the intriguing ideas included in our section on making slab plates – painting a design with glaze and a stencil, or using a crushed plastic bag to create an interesting texture, for example.
So, if you are eager to learn as much as you can about making pots, download Pottery 101: Beginning Pottery Projects and Equipment Lists! The price is certainly right – FREE! And it’s the perfect resource for starting or enhancing your early efforts in the ceramic arts. Remember, everything in this guide comes from people who were beginners once too, so they know where the struggles lie. And most importantly, they know how to overcome them!
Download the free guide right now, and become a better ceramic artist tomorrow. That’s our promise to you from Ceramic Arts Network!
Best regards,
Jennifer Poellot Harnetty
Editor, Ceramic Arts Network