Pottery Making Illustrated Articles (Simple)

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

In order to adapt my thinking from the repetition of daily studio work to exploration mode, I need a shift of experience. Summer seems to be a particularly experimental time of year for me. The days a

I am inspired by vibrant, distinctive, and complex patterns, such as Islamic art patterns. As the viewer’s eye is captured by bold symmetry and an interplay of color, the potter may also experience a

Using the right tool for the job is always a good idea, but in ceramics, using the right brush is critical for creating certain marks on your pots. You’d have a difficult time trying to use a short fl

Everything comes with a price tag, including artwork. The artistic process is built on skills, education, experience, and creativity, all of which take time to develop. That said, outside your studio,

If you are looking for inspiration, the projects and techniques in the following pages have you covered. This issue delivers new ideas in glazing, mark making, Chinese brush strokes, stamping, masking

For me, making mugs is like eating comfort food. When the pandemic first hit, I found myself returning again and again to the mug form. When making a mug, there is a familiarity between maker and clay

Kilns Illustrated by Robin Ouellette

Food and clay have run together for eons, developing a relationship between families, forms, and flavors. Family gatherings often bring up nostalgic memories of the flavors of food, long tables surrou

Mountain vases are a series of coordinated small vases that can be used individually or arranged (and rearranged) in a series. The best part of this project is that each person making these vases crea

Both functional and decorative, my carved porcelain pots are created to be joyful, tactile containers for nature’s beauty. I am greatly inspired by the flowing forms of botanicals as well as the graph

Alchemy is the power or process of transforming something common into something special. This magic of alchemy that occurs within ceramics has been a continual source of interest and delight. Fascinat

It was a short leap to go from zesting leather-hard cylinders to zesting freshly thrown ones, and another short leap to start browsing yard sales and cooking-supply stores for other kitchen gadgets th

Due to its low profile, my slab-constructed flower brick is a centerpiece that does not necessarily have to be moved when folks gather around the table. It provides the space needed to see one another

Perhaps you have a creative idea for your next piece, or maybe you’re not sure what you want to do in your next body of work. In either case, what can you do to expand an initial form or generate new

Once you’ve decided what to make, be sure to think through how to get it on the wall securely before it’s bone dry or fired. Sure, a simple hole to catch a nail may work for some pieces, but there are

Slip can be used for surface texture, for color, and for joining pieces together. In this project, I use it for all three, and repurpose a laser spirit level to align the handle vertically.

I have always believed that each of us has a personal tool kit, a set of internal skills, experiences, references, and resources found on our path that evolves as we age. The acts of collecting art as

The illustrations above show the general proportions that work best for teapots and covered dishes. “One can look at proportions in three ways. First, the object itself. All three-dimensional forms ha