Johanna DeMaine: Creating Bright Textured Surfaces with Raised Enamels,...
Though fired to the same temperatures (about 1472°F/800° C), raised enamels differ from china paints in that they have more body and leave a raised line. They are a mixture of low-fire frit, clay and...
View ArticleThe Broomstick Method: Making Cylindrical Pottery Without a Pottery Wheel
In this video, Mitch Lyons demonstrates making a cylindrical form using a series of dowel rods in graduated sizes to hollow out the center. It is a great technique for handbuilding cylinders because...
View ArticleLayers of Information: How to Build Surface Texture Layer by Layer
Today, Annie Chrietzberg explains how Lana Wilson uses bisque stamps, textured materials, rolling, and paddling to create layered texture on her work. She also explains her darting technique for...
View ArticleLine Blends: A Surefire Way to Build Your Understanding of Ceramic Glaze...
Let's face it. We've all had glaze disasters in the kiln. From the mild disappointment of a glaze not turning out exactly the color you were hoping for to a glaze completely running off a piece and...
View ArticleHow to Throw a Fluted Serving Bowl with a Decorative Flange and Rim
When Sarah Jaeger started making her fluted serving bowls she decided to add a decorative flange about three quarters up as a way of dividing up the space for decoration. But this was one of those...
View ArticleHow to Add Interest to a Handbuilt Tumbler by Paddling the Foot and Adding a...
I love watching Sandi Pierantozzi work and have been so excited by the great ideas I came away with after shooting her how-to DVD this past summer. So today, I am going to share another fun...
View ArticleUsing a Pottery Wheel to Make Cool Slab Built Pottery
Most of us don't think of the pottery wheel when we think about making slabs. But there's no reason to overlook this piece of equipment when slabbuilding. The pottery wheel can yield some pretty cool...
View ArticleThe Daily Grind: An Easy Way to Make Lids Fit Perfectly
Tom Turner is a firm believer in the phrase "no detail is too small," which is one of the reasons his pots are so exquisite. One of the details that he prides himself on are his quiet, no-friction,...
View ArticleChecking in with Euan Craig: A New Studio, A New Start
It has been nearly two years since a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit northern Japan. After the disaster, we posted an entry from potter Euan Craig's blog (Euan the Potter) documenting how his...
View ArticleMaking Music with Clay: How to Make a Ceramic Ocarina
All kinds of musical instruments can be fashioned from clay, with one of the simplest being the ocarina. The project we are presenting today makes an ideal ceramics lesson plan for teachers...
View ArticleMaking a Tray for a Non Round Form
Marty Fielding enjoys making nonround angular forms, but is a wheel thrower at heart. So, rather than building from the ground up with slabs, Marty makes the walls of his pieces on the wheel then cuts...
View ArticleCreating Surface Designs with Glaze, Wax and Underglaze
I am always looking for new ways to add designs and imagery to my work and I am always amazed that I keep discovering new techniques. Case in point: the Brenda Quinn article in the latest issue of...
View ArticleCardboard Stencils and Colored Slips Add Imagery and Texture to Slabs
I love using stencils in my work. I've tried lots of different materials as stencils, but I had never thought to use cardboard. Karmien Bowman uses cardboard for stencils to create lively imagery as...
View ArticleVideo of the Week: How to Make an Elegant Wheel-thrown and Handbuilt Serving...
I've been making a lot of bowls lately, but I am feeling like I need to change things up with them. I am happy with the surface, now I just need to work on the form. For some inspiration, I decided to...
View ArticleHow to Make a Textured Bisque Mold that Mimics a Thrown Piece
There are lots of ways to make molds in ceramics, as you'll see in our newly revised download Ceramic Mold Making Techniques: Tips for Making Plaster Molds and Slip Casting Clay. And I love that I keep...
View ArticleQuilting with Clay: A Handbuilt Soft Slab Ceramic Wall Art Project
Ceramic artist Amy Sander's work, which includes functional pottery as well as decorative wall pieces, has the appearance of soft quilted fabric although it is made of fired clay. Today, Amy shares her...
View ArticleVideos of the Week: A Couple of Tips for Making Interesting, Repeatable...
In these video clips, Deb Schwartzkopf demonstrates how she makes the super cool bottoms of her cup forms with a slab and a bisque fired mold. She then skillfully attaches the base to a bottomless...
View ArticleThree Potters Share Their Best Sgraffito Tips, Plus a Bonus Video!
Sgraffito can be an impactful, dramatic way of decorating pots (like in Kathy King's plate to the left) or a more subtle way to add color or definition to a design (see Kristen Pavelka's plate below)....
View ArticleHow to Make Delicate Translucent Platters with Porcelain Slip and Terra...
Think thin porcelain. Now think even thinner porcelain and you have the plates of Christina Bryer. These translucent plates are a slip-casting marvel but not nearly as impossible to make as you would...
View ArticlePottery Video of the Week: How to Make a Textured Soft Slab Wall Plate
In today's video, a (much condensed) excerpt from his DVD Slabs, Templates, Textures and Terra Sigillata, potter Jeremy Randall demonstrates his signature texture making method, and makes a soft-slab...
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