Ceramics Monthly Articles (Simple)

  • Studio Visit: Claudia Tarantino and Bill Abright, San Anselmo, California
    Our studio is built under our hillside home in San Anselmo, California. It runs east to west across the width of the house and has a separate entrance. There are three levels as it steps down the hill
  • Clay Culture: WVO Firings
    Waste vegetable oil (WVO) can be used in kiln firings as a sustainable and renewable alternative to petroleum-based fuels. An effective delivery system is relatively simple to make with common materia
  • Achieving a Clean Etch
    When working with clay, as with other mediums, many of the most interesting techniques arrive unexpectedly. This was the case with Steve Kelly’s deceptively simple etching technique, born of a desire
  • Clay Culture: Greening a Studio
    Greening a small-scale production studio is easier than you think! Here are several simple steps you can take to lower your carbon footprint as well as your bills for materials, electricity, and water
  • Exposure: April 2017
    Images from Current and Upcoming Exhibitions
  • Reshaping Tradition
    With its diverse array of objects and aesthetics, “Reshaping Tradition” (on view in 2016 at the USC Pacific Asia Museum (www.pacificasiamuseum.org) in Pasadena, California) offered a view of contempor
  • From the Editor
    In this issue, we look at a number of ways artists have pursued leaner, greener studio practices along with investing in a community and building an audience. Pursuing and, perhaps more importantly,
  • Mahima Singh: Adventure, Innovation, and Adaptation
    I first noticed Mahima Singh’s work on the Pottery Northwest (PNW) kiln-room shelves. I was halfway through my residency there, and unloading a kiln one morning to make room for my firing later that d
  • Marek Cecula: Global Clay Prophet
    Marek Cecula, long a mainstay of the contemporary New York City ceramics scene when he was head of ceramics at Parsons School of Design for 21 years, left New York in 2004 and now lives in his native
  • Recipes: Studio Takada
    Sumiko and Kaname Takada share the clays, slips, and glazes they use on their earthenware and stoneware bodies of work.
  • Spotlight: Queer Theory in Clay
    For me, both bodies of artwork are equally satisfying because they feed off of and inform each other. They both offer me what I need in my studio practice in regards to research and inspiration.
  • Paradox: Identity and Belonging
    I was in the room when Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates delivered his keynote speech at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2014. A
  • Clay Culture: The Power of Offering
    A professor reflects on the overwhelming importance of focusing on both what one can give and the honor of humility. In a small midwestern town there’s a university. It’s located somewhere within a r
  • From the Editor: March 2017
    In the current climate, inclusivity and working to break down or remove obstacles to participation, expression, and open dialog are more important than ever. Art helps people slow down, feel and expre
  • Earthenware with Intricate Surface Patterning
    My work starts with patterns made with slips and glazes. The shape, scale, colors, and textures of my pieces are chosen to complement and enhance the patterns. Double-walled bowls are one of my favori
  • Smooth and Exacting Surface Decoration
    I was born and raised in Nagoya, located in a region rich in the ceramics culture and tradition of Japan. Seto, arguably the most famous town for ceramics in Japan, is a mere 30-minute train ride from
  • Studio Visit: Pioneer Pottery, Janet Hero Dodge and Julie Dickinson, Roscoe, Montana
    Pioneer Pottery is situated on the banks of the East Rosebud River in the foothills of the majestic Beartooth mountains, near the tiny community of Roscoe in south central Montana. Our 15×25-foot work