Pottery Making Illustrated Articles (Simple)

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

I make a variety of bowl forms that perform complementary services. Some are open and graceful forms lending a sense of offering to the center of a table and can serve your fresh-picked summer greens.

Tall pots are not necessarily big pots. Rather, they are forms that are several times higher than they are wide. Throwing high, slender, lightweight pots may seem an impossible task, but the secret of

When I was an undergraduate ceramics student, I learned to throw something called a yo-yo pot. It’s a straight-walled cylinder, that is collared in at the top until completely closed. After leveling t

Creating a pattern with glaze using the techniques that I do takes a bit of planning to make a successfully designed pot, and my process is not without its awkward moments. I don’t always cover the en

Like yoga and meditation, clay has always been a part of my spiritual practice. Creating ceramic vessels allows me to explore my personal striving for emotional and spiritual equilibrium. I explore th

Having grown up on a farm as the youngest child in a large family, I spent my childhood observing nature, playing with my eight older brothers, and daydreaming. Today, I look to my childhood explorati

Whenever I start a large piece, I make sure to have all the clay weighed out and ready, so I don’t have to deal with any inconsistencies later on. The platter demonstrated here is made from two 30-pou

What is a creativity vacation? Rather than a pause on your creativity, it’s an opportunity for expanding and exercising it without the typical day-to-day constraints. It’s an intentional planning of t