Ceramics Monthly Articles (Simple)

  • From the Editor: March 2022
    As mentorship is a key throughline for all of the artists, both in terms of how they built their carers and how they in turn guide others, one takeaway for all of us is to find, foster, and offer these relationships in our own lives.
  • Spotlight: Mobile Makers
    Sarah Anderson, along with fellow potter Marret Metzger and dog Pip, have planned an epic road trip from Texas to Sacramento, California. Along the way, they’ll hike, visit artists and galleries, and make work in their mobile studio.
  • Call for Entries: February 2022
    Deadlines for exhibitions, fairs, and festivals.
  • Recipes: Cone-10 Surfaces
    By combining stains and layered glazes, Abby Reczek accentuates and adds layers to her carved and incised surface designs.
  • Tips and Tools: Electric Kilns
    This brief foundational guide to electric kilns includes information on what to look for and consider when buying.
  • Techno File: Loss on Ignition
    Loss on ignition (LOI) gives valuable, but often underused information about ceramic raw materials. Discover why LOI matters and how ceramic artists can use it to their advantage.
  • A New Path with Lithophanes
    Stephanie Osser describes the history of lithophanes as well as an introductory project for those interested in the process.
  • Robert Harrison: A Collective Purpose
    Known for his architectural ceramics and focus on sustainability in the field, Robert Harrison’s new work repurposes found, altered, and manufactured ceramics to create large-scale assemblage sculptures.
  • Barbara Gittings: The Power of the Cut
    Influenced by a decades-long career in fashion, Barbara Gittings creates patterned vessels using oxide-stained clay and nerikomi techniques.
  • Masa Sasaki: Shifting Form and Holding Wonder
    Alien imagery, symbols, and numbers adorn the surfaces of potter Masa Sasaki’s distinct vessels. Layered with influence pulled from music, personal experience as an immigrant, and philosophies on happiness, his ceramic pots embody curiosity.
  • Jeff Shapiro: Quiet Influences of Nature and Material
    Jeff Shapiro’s new sculptural work builds on his long-held interest in finding beauty in nature (including its imperfections), observing his surroundings to make new discoveries, and researching and understanding the essence of objects.
  • George Metropoulos McCauley: Mistakes Make the Magic
    George Metropoulos builds characters and bodies of work in a uniquely immersive fashion. Loosely constructed and often decorated with Redneck Majolica, his vessels and sculptures are eccentric, inventive, and earnest.
  • Clay Culture: Proteomics and Pots
    Analysis of residues sampled from ancient vessels can reveal information on the proteins, and therefore the diets, diseases, and species contemporary to their users.
  • Clay Culture:  Finding a Balance
    Potter Abby Reczek moved to Floyd, Virginia, for an apprenticeship, and decided to stay. When the opportunity arose to co-own a gallery business in town, she worked hard to make it happen.
  • Clay Culture: Ceramic Swallows of Portugal
    Swallows have special meaning in Portuguese culture, and ceramic silhouettes of these distinctive birds can be found on the walls of many homes and businesses.
  • Clay Culture: Moving Queen City Clay
    The pandemic gave the owners of Queen City Clay a chance to reassess their current and future facility needs. They share the process of re-imagining and then reconstructing their business in a new, expansive space.
  • Exposure: February 2022
    Images from Current and Upcoming Exhibitions
  • Quick Tip: Resourceful Chucks for Trimming
    During the COVID-19 lockdown, I decided to learn how to make pottery and, as a newbie, came across a problem when I threw a little vase on my wheel that had a smaller rim than its base.
  • From the Editor: February 2022
    What is your vision of a career in clay? In this issue, we bring together several articles focused on artists who have taken interesting approaches to building a creative life.
  • Recipes: High-Fire Glazes
    The cone-10 glazes below are staples in the Queen City Clay studio in Cincinnati, Ohio. They create rich surfaces when used both on their own and layered in specific combinations.