Pottery Making Illustrated Articles (Simple)

Excerpted From Mud to Music by Barry Hall, published by The American Ceramic Society.

I grew up with a potter dad, and my family loves cooking, feeding friends, and eating. That remains important.

My face pots started as a gift for a friend, and they have evolved over the last few years. I plan the pieces beforehand as much as possible, which means determining the height and the diameter for varying sizes and shapes.

Inspiration is everywhere. I am inspired to visually defy the laws of physics with clay and build a double-walled, incised lantern based on the basket weavers of coastal South Carolina.

Ocarinas, a type of vessel flute, have existed for millennia in cultures across the globe. While modern concert-quality ocarinas are typically slip cast or press molded, simpler versions are easily handbuilt.

Once you’ve taken a moment to support your community and secure your studio, I invite you to delve into this issue, which spotlights functional objects—items in your home that you can use or admire, but not necessarily eat or drink from.

Figuring out how to make relief-carved pots has been an exercise in setting up parameters for myself.

Wavy, undulating lines have come to characterize my work. This motif echoes the movement of water and mountains and its repetition provides visual interest.

I recently took the time to focus on my detailed surface designs by slip casting my forms, which saved me forming time—a technique I had long wanted to learn.

Ceramic wall hangings are a fun way to express yourself with a more painterly approach to glazing.

Pottery studios are hubs of creativity, yet, managing a pottery studio efficiently can be a complex endeavor behind the scenes.

I have been making pottery for a very long time and have tried myriad surface decoration techniques over the years. I discovered cuerda seca about 15 years ago and have since been experimenting with the process.

As a clay artist with a sculptural background, one of the most satisfying challenges for me is creating lidded containers where the lid fits seamlessly onto the body of the vessel, while also capturing my personal aesthetic.

This lidded server happened somewhere in the trickle-down as I moved this process from larger sculptural vessels into dinnerware.

I am drawn to slip casting because it allows for the replication of forms and encapsulation of details impossible to make otherwise. I find solace in this process; the technical nature of mold making being extremely challenging and rewarding.

While I aim to convey the beauty and joy of nature in my pieces, I also desire my artwork to highlight the necessity of preserving our local ecosystems.

As an avid gardener, flora and fauna serve as the main source of inspiration for my explorations in surface design.

After some experimentation and figuring out what I love to do most in the studio, I found my way back to functional work, much to my surprise.