Pottery Making Illustrated Articles (Simple)

Drawings adapted from Robin Hopper’s book Functional Pottery, published by The American Ceramic Society and available on the Ceramic Arts Network Shop.

When I switched to handbuilding from wheel throwing, I had to rethink how to make handles that best reflected the feel of my handbuilt work, so I began exploring. A few times a year, I set aside a pla

Envision a cabin or a woven basket: both are constructed in a linear manner and demonstrate a labor of love. In the cabin, one log is stacked carefully atop the others, while in the basket, one pass o

I began painting as a child, learning oil painting before I was 10. Although I took a lot of ceramics courses in college, I majored in painting and printmaking. A few years after graduating, I found m

I’ve always appreciated ornamentation and its ability to elevate the ordinary into something magnificent. I’m driven to create work that’s beautiful in its precision and attention to detail and I appr

Everyday tasks are more enjoyable when using tools that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also excellently perform the tasks for which they were designed. This versatile bottle was designed for

In all of my ceramic work, including glazed stoneware bowls with faceted planes and cut feet, I seek to integrate form with surface design and glaze color. The form of a bowl and the cut foot guide an

A community/group studio, by its nature, has a significant number of variables—not least of which is the glaze palette. Different students will want different colors and properties for their glazes. T

The coloring oxides are the transition metal oxides vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel and copper. Transition metals can combine with different numbers of oxygen atoms to give differe

The first stage of pottery making is the one you learn by trial and error through countless hours spent practicing forms after class and by watching endless online throwing videos.

Inlaid tile design illustrations

I love to combine handbuilding and slip casting because the finished work is often much lighter in weight and easier to replicate, yet retains the touched pinchy appearance of being entirely handbuilt

No matter how eager you might be to begin splashing on your newly concocted glazes, there are a few details that must be put in order first. The surface of the clay form must be cleaned of any dust or

After much experimentation, I was able to throw porcelain with feldspar and molochite inclusions and alter the forms with the addition of plain porcelain parts. Throwing with inclusions in the clay is

Seeking a clay body with properties to best communicate my new ideas, I found myself testing every kind of clay from my local supplier. Before long, I had a studio full of reclaim. As a result, I bega

There is a rich history of sharing cultural values and beliefs both through the telling of stories as well as the use of hand-crafted objects. My illustrations are often graphic, simplified depictions

I’m interested in creating surfaces that are rich in pattern, but also subtly beautiful in their simplicity. I work with a limited color palette, choosing to emphasize form through carving. This juxta

As a ceramic artist who adds gold luster to every piece I fire, the most common emails I receive from other potters contain questions about how to use gold luster. Generally, it seems like there’s a b

Planters are a staple of the potter’s repertoire, but it’s hard to make a planter that works better than the standard red earthenware flower pot! However, certain plants benefit from special pots made

When we think of pottery, we often think of working on the potter’s wheel—creating pots in the round. However, shaping a great pot doesn’t have to stop when the wheel does! There are endless opportuni