Pottery Making Illustrated Articles (Simple)

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.

When I’m in a studio slump, I focus on working on a form or vessel that will be instantly useful in my home.

To understand glaze faults, you must understand that while many ceramic artists deeply dislike unstable glaze surfaces and are distressed when pieces with such surfaces come from their kilns, many others seek out these characteristics.

Don’t feel limited with regards to what your extruder can add to your studio. Custom dies can make a big difference, and they are easy to make.

My tripod vessels are a signature form that I have developed over many years. I first became interested in the tripod when seeing Pre-Columbian ceramics at the Denver Art Museum.

I create pieces for the countertop, and pots that allow for a vast range of function. Citrus juicers are one of the few forms I make with just one intended use in mind.

A handmade ceramic box or stand with storage compartments can be a special place to store keepsakes—objects with sentimental value or that have a sense of preciousness.

Serving trays, platters, and other forms can start to take on painterly and sculptural qualities when hung, enabling the interactions we have with them to be quite different than when they are on the table and involved with food and service.

This is the 25th Anniversary Contest! This collection showcases some of our readers’ best serving dishes, tableware, and functional vessels made for gatherings..

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.