Ceramics

Slip trailing is a lovely way to add dimensionality to your work. And it is super simple to prepare your slip from your own clay body. In today's clip, an excerpt from her DVD Layered Surfaces, Erin Furimsky explains how to prepare slip for slip trailing, plus gives a bunch of tips on how to get the most out of your slip trailer.

In my neck of the woods, it's the time of year when rhubarb starts peaking up through the cold ground. So when I saw Sumi von Dassow's article on how to make a baker for rhubarb crisp going into the March/April 2013 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated, I knew I had to share it. In this post, Sumi demonstrates how she makes her lovely square baking dishes (that are great for any type of baked dessert - not just rhubarb!). Plus she shares a recipe for rhubarb crisp from the lovely Sarah Jaeger! - Jennifer Harnetty editor.

A few years back, Doug Gray was interested in incorporating his digital photography into his clay work. He tried decals, but it wasn’t the look he was after – he wanted the photos to help him create the images, but he didn’t want the images to look exactly like photographs.   One day he had... Read More »

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 textured wall plate with an extruded rim and foot. Enjoy and have a fabulous weekend!

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 think. In today's post, an excerpt from the April 2013 issue of Ceramics Monthly, Christina walks us through the process of making her delicate platters. - Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

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). No matter what effect you're after, it is super fun to carve into an underglazed or slipped pot. In today's post, Kathy King, Wayne Bates, and Kristen Pavelka share their best tips for sgraffito, including what tools they use and the perfect time to carve. Everybody does it slightly differently. Read on to see which method makes the most sense to you! - Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

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 wheel-thrown cylinder, which she then darts and alters to make the shape just right. The Mike Davis explains how easy it is to make attachments with cast pieces - just dip and stick! - Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

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 process for creating patchwork ceramic wall art.

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 discovering new variations. Case in point: Nancy Zoller's textured bisque hump molds. I love how Nancy incorporates texture right into the mold, and adds a spiral detail to make a piece look thrown. In today's post, Nancy explains her process. -Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

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 revisit one of Martha Grover's serving bowl projects on her DVD Creating Curves with Clay. Today, I thought I would share it on CAD because it is such a lovely piece. Perhaps it will help you take your bowls in a new direction. – Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

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 well as dimensionality on her slab built pottery. In today's post, an excerpt from From a Slab of Clay, Daryl Baird explains Karmien's process. Having dozens of clay tools is by no means a prerequisite for slab work. But, don't be surprised as you work on your initial projects that you start looking at the utensils in your kitchen drawers or at the hand tools in your garage and find yourself thinking, "I wonder how those would work on clay?" If so, good for you!

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 Pottery Making Illustrated. Brenda creates lovely surfaces by drawing a design on top of the glazed surface, then waxing over it, then carving the design through the wax and brushing a diluted underglaze into the carved areas. Pretty cool. - Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

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 them up and assembles them to get the pots he wants. In today's post, an excerpt from his new DVD Hybrid Pottery: Throwing, Altering, Assembling, Marty shows how he makes cool trays for his diamond-shaped oil bottles. Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

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 incorporating basic handbuilding skills. Or it can be a fun project for those who need a break from their regular studio work.

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 family and his pottery were impacted. Euan and his family made the difficult decision to relocate and start over. In today's post, an excerpt from his Studio Visit article in the March 2013 issue of Ceramics Monthly, Euan gives us an update from his new studio in Minakami, Japan. - Jennifer Harnetty, editor. 

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, perfectly fitting lids. Tom spends time throughout the making process to make sure he is getting the tightest possible lid fit, but he also wants them to be silky smooth "like butta." His secret comes from an auto parts store. In today's post, an excerpt from his video Understanding Porcelain, Tom shares that secret. - Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

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 results as you can see in the image to the left. In today's post, an excerpt from his book From a Slab of Clay, Daryl Baird explains how you can use the wheel to make a slab with a spiral texture, which is quite challenging with any other method. - Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

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 handbuilding technique from the DVD. In this clip, Sandi takes a basic cylindrical tumbler made with soft slabs, and adds a bit of elegance by paddling the bottom and adding a foot ring.

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 happy coincidences when the decoration also enhanced the function by creating a natural place for hands to rest when carrying the bowl. In today's video, an excerpt from her DVD Throwing, Altering and Glazing for function and Beauty, Sarah explains how she makes and trims these beautiful bowls. - Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

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 ruining a kiln shelf. That's why it is so important to test our glazes. Line blends are a pretty simple and straightforward way of testing glazes that can yield a wealth of information. In today's post, an excerpt from Developing Glazes, Greg Daly explains how to do a couple of line blends and shares some recipes you can try. - Jennifer Harnetty, editor.