Pottery Making Illustrated Articles (Simple)

There are a lot of bird feeders in our backyards, and some of them are handmade out of clay.

Decoration has always been the most engaging part of creating with clay for me.

I designed this plant propagator specifically for “Planted,” a group show and pop-up organized by Dirt Folk for the 2025 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference.

The function of my work brings the viewer in contact with the illustrations and gives them a chance to investigate the form, surface, and drawings to form narratives relating to their own experience and relationships with the imagery.

I create them as an exercise in play, with very few tools and very few rules.

I use colored porcelain to create intricate, quilt-like patterns inspired by textile design and fragments of daily life.

I’m inspired by wildflowers on the street, the shifting colors of the sky, and the surrounding scenery in my everyday environment.

Pleased with the knobs you make for your jar and teapot lids? Turn them into drawer pulls. Drawer pulls can be any form or shape, as long as they are comfortable to hold and thick enough to allow for the hardware.

I always mix in the wet stain initially with a fork, pulling the sides of the clay into the center to cover the stain, preventing it from going all over my hands and therefore being wasted.

I found some mass-produced metal magnetic pin dishes, which gave me the idea to make ceramic ones as a fun and exciting project!

The artists featured in this issue are also reframing their time in the studio to create functional objects outside the traditional utilitarian cup, bowl, and plate, and designing items to complement our tables, homes, and daily lives.

I’ve found great satisfaction in developing multiple surface techniques over the years, viewing the limitations of oxidation as a fertile catalyst for imagination.

I approach bowls as pieces meant to be shared and enjoyed. I decorate the outside walls so that they are engaging to look at, and also to touch.

This ewer is designed with that duality in mind. It’s a vessel for those transformative touches, embodying the idea that a little truly goes a long way.

Looking back, I recognize that my interest in design and architecture plays a key role in my vessels, both utilitarian and sculptural.

The salt cellar I create is a squat, simple form with straight walls and a wide, flat-topped lid. This shape leaves plenty of room for surface detail to remain visible.

I’m drawn to the seemingly infinite variations I can create within color. All color schemes are premeditated, planned out in my notebook, and then I adjust as I go.

Rethinking the concept of a resist and what makes it work, or not work, opens up a whole new world of possibilities for resist decoration.

Despite being one of the most ancient forms of creative expression, there are seemingly endless possibilities to adapt and develop to achieve new and exciting results.