Pottery Making Illustrated Articles (Simple)

I love flowers (who doesn’t?) and am always trying to find more ways to bring nature indoors. I’ve also long enjoyed small, precious things. The micro vase satisfies both desires.

Wanting to try these techniques on my own, I went back to my studio and perfected my type of scoop.

Dividing the exterior surface of a pot into individual planes imposes an architectural structure to it—an exciting element of formal drama, simplicity, and elegance.

Loose-leaf teas keep intact all of the essential oils that make teas flavorful and aromatic.

Slips and engobes are related to one another and sometimes the terms are used synonymously.

Some of the potters featured in this issue have engaged in master-apprentice relationships at some point in their careers—from informal to formal—and found them to be very rewarding.

One of the best ways to improve your ceramic building skills and develop a discerning eye is to copy the masters. Try your hand at any of the pots.

As someone who loves to make pasta from scratch, I find it very rewarding and surprisingly simple. And of course, being a potter, I am equally interested in how a well-designed plate can enhance the fresh-made-pasta experience.

Screens are one of the most popular and versatile ways to transfer an image onto a surface. They’re also one of the simplest ways to duplicate designs or patterns that are too detailed to cut as an open stencil.

Use the molds in an inverted manner to make curvilinear forms that were both functional and sculptural at the same time. This was the beginning of my wall-clock series.

This kind of thinking led to me making a whole lot of conventional pots, until my contrary nature kicked in and I asked myself what would happen if I did the opposite of what the clay seemed to ask for.

Successfully designing and illustrating on clay can be both creatively and technically challenging. While I want my work to be visually engaging, real success comes when I can establish an emotional connection with my audience.

Soon I started to draw influence from crochet and metal weaving patterns, the structured geometry bringing strength to the delicate nature of ceramics.

Handbuilding projects from the archive.

Handbuilding projects from the archive.

Handbuilding projects from the archive.

Because two hours likely isn’t enough time to complete most clay work, it can be helpful to prepare your space, equipment, and clay in advance to help make the most of your creative time.

If you are just starting out, there are several types of tools that you will need while glazing and some others that are nice to have. In this section, I’ve grouped them by category and indicated the ones I think are most important.

The potters featured in this issue spent years mastering form and developing style.

Architecture and pottery have much in common. Architecture is the art of enclosing space. Pottery is, in essence, miniature architecture, displacing and enclosing space by the development of three-dimensional forms.