Ceramics Monthly Articles (Simple)

Seth Green shares recipes for slips and glazes he uses to create the metallic and variable surfaces on his wood-fired vessels.

Make measuring the specific gravity of a mixed glaze quick work with a gram scale and a small syringe.

The benefits of firing wood kilns in groups include sharing the burden of time, labor, and resources. The final cost per potter, though traditionally determined by kiln space, can be more accurately calculated by weight.

Danielle Carelock started making utilitarian pots to serve holiday meals shared with family. She discusses the process for building one of the forms she developed for these special occasions—an oval, lidded dish, perfect for baking and casseroles.

Something clicked for potter Seth Green while seeing a silhouetted lighthouse near Valparaíso, Chile. Back in the studio, he continued to explore the influence of architecture on his functional forms with greater clarity.

Richard Bateson started out as a production thrower, then opened his own business, and, after World War II, taught students who were part of the emerging studio-pottery movement.

Potter and scientist Ryan Coppage shares a few of the elements that make for good pots that are successful in their form, aesthetic, and function.

Through a process involving journaling and quick, gestural drawing, Aisha Harrison develops ideas for sculptural work. Her focus is on listening to her ancestors and becoming a vehicle for passing forward collective wisdom.

Large-scale natural wonders, the concept of two-ness, and thoughts captured in an always-close-by journal influence the sculptural vessels made by Brooklyn-based ceramic artist and financier Virginia Felix.

Now settled into the basement-turned-studio space of her family’s rental home, potter Jenn Cole shares how she manages the many moving parts of her two-part business, including sales and social media.

Patty Housen and Liz Rosenblatt opened Full-Circle Pottery nine years ago, and welcome an intentional, intergenerational community of makers with an approach guided by a mental-health and gerontology perspective.

A team of researchers is applying high-tech analysis to ancient porcelain shards in order to reproduce the unique characteristics of Ru celadon glaze.

Images from Current and Upcoming Exhibitions

I love creating round, full-bellied vessels and try to make them as big as possible. These large forms can be difficult to lower into the kiln when they are dry, fragile greenware.

The artists featured in this issue strive for an evolving balance in their practices, using their skills to express creativity and ensuring the forms they make maintain both the passion for what they do and function in generative ways for their audiences.

Pattie Chalmers shares how her three types of work are linked by her interest in narrative and in suggesting a story that the viewer has an active part in completing.

Deadlines for exhibitions, fairs, and festivals.

Erin Furimsky and Janina Myronova share recipes for an engobe and clear glazes they use on their mid-range and high-fire sculptural work, respectively.

After spending more time at home last year, Katie Cameron decided to update her light switch covers to personalize her space. She shares her process for those interested in doing the same.

Reading, writing, and understanding a glaze recipe relies heavily on knowing what role each individual material plays in the making of the glaze.