Pottery Making Illustrated Articles (Simple)

To celebrate the start of our 25th volume year, we are throwing a potluck and serving up a feast of dishes handmade by our readers.

Hand-drawn illustrations of handles

I recently received the large, formal set of Noritake china that my grandparents purchased in the 1960s while stationed at a military base in Guam.

I’ve been enjoying making medium to large mugs because they feel good in the hand and can hold a substantial amount of liquid.

Holes enrich surfaces by adding absence. I play with this compelling contradiction on a small scale by making pierced tealight holders and nightlights—objects designed to frame light within while casting mesmerizing shadows.

Faceting and altering your pots while they are still wet on the wheel can be a fun and rewarding way to add interest to a simple form.

My dessert-dish forms are inspired by mid-century glass ice-cream dishes that I encountered when I worked at a retro pharmacy and soda fountain while in high school.

For some years, I have been keen on repurposing and borrowing shapes from once-used to-go boxes, commercial food packaging, vintage jello molds, and secondhand pottery for my work.

However, there are times when a customer wants a mug that holds exactly the amount a coffee maker makes, a fermenting crock that holds a gallon, or even a cremation urn with a specific capacity.

As you operate your pottery business, there might be times when cash flow is good and other times where it’s slow. In order to have a steady, reliable cash flow, an artist should invest those extra funds.

Recently, I have seen a growing interest in slip casting. One of the great things about slip casting is that you can create a mold based on your own design, cast the piece, and implement the process into your work to create more consistent results.

So, before you set the table for tonight’s dinner, pull up a chair and settle into this issue of Pottery Making Illustrated.

Branding is the consistent way a business or person represents themselves to the public. The overall visual look of a brand should delineate one brand from another, much the same way one artist’s work looks different from another’s.

Illustrations of Potluck Dishes

A wide shallow bowl lends the potter a large surface area for expressive decoration. When in use, it can easily function as a focal point for a kitchen table top, the locus of offering and the center

I’ve always been drawn to pots with clean, elegant lines that can act as canvases, and I enjoy pairing them with glazes that mimic biological processes or the natural world. I spent several years work

My wrap vessels were inspired by my love of color and nerikomi, the Japanese technique of building forms with colored clay. My wrap vessel stemmed from my exploration with creating wrap-around rings a

Using nature as my inspiration, I infuse Chinese meaning into my pieces by celebrating the symbolism behind particular animals, plants, and flowers. In my current exploration, I seek to find balance b

While my work thus far has been mostly functional, I have always had a love for stand-alone pieces that are meant to be on display, such as a planter, fruit bowl, or vase. I also like to challenge mys