Festive Flower Bricks: Coil-Built Forms Fit For a Party
Today, in an excerpt from the November/December 2010 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated, Arthur Halversen takes us through the coil building process he uses to construct his flower brick forms. He also shares his recipe for the frosting-like glaze he uses – the icing on the cake, as they say. – Jennifer Harnetty, editor.
Handbuilding Video: Making a Tidy Slab-Built Tumbler with Slip Decoration
Today’s video comes to us from Ceramic Arts Daily reader Charan Sachar. I admire Charan’s ability to make handbuilt forms that are neat and tight. Not that all handbuilt forms have to be neat and tight – loose handbuilt forms are great too – but I definitely struggle with making my handbuilt forms appear well crafted and not sloppy (in my eyes). At any rate, this is an enjoyable video, and I definitely picked up a few tips to help improve my handbuilt pots. Hope you will too!
How to Make a Chalice With Inlaid Decoration Using the Broomstick Method of Handbuilding
There are many ways to make goblets or chalices out of clay, but I especially loved the simplicity of a method that Mitch Lyons demonstrated at a recent Potters Council conference. I liked it so much that I got it on film and I am going to share it with you today! Mitch also demonstrates his method of inlaying colored clay decoration in the video.
A Potter Extends the Practicality of a Cup and Saucer Set
Necessity is the mother of invention, as the saying goes, and Paul Donnelly’s tea trays are a prime example of this. Today, Paul Donnelly explains how he makes his tea trays using a combination of wheel throwing, press molding and slab-building techniques.
Decorating Through Disassembly: Jeff Campana’s Sliced and Spliced Porcelain Pottery
There are many, many ways to put lines onto posts – carving, fluting, painting, drawing – but, I have to say, I had never seen anyone doing it quite like Jeff Campana. Jeff takes his well-thrown porcelain pots, chops them up into pieces, and then reassembles them. Then to top it all off, he uses glazes that pool in the seams. Today, Jeff shares his technique and how he arrived at such a labor intensive process in the first place.
Jerilyn Virden: The Evolution of a Form
In today’s post, Robin Dreyer tells us about the evolution of
Jerilyn Virden’s work. Plus Jerilyn explains how she uses double-walled
construction, oxides, layered glazes and sandblasting to create the
beautiful forms shown here.
Tips for Using Soft Slabs to Make Pottery
In today’s post, we’ll concentrate on working with soft slabs in particular. If you’ve ever used soft slabs, you know that they are extra susceptible to finger marks, distortion and collapse. This posts contains tips to help avoid those problems and a project that takes advantage of soft slab malleability to make some really cool dishes.
How to Make Large Slab-Built Ceramic Forms Using Tarpaper Molds
Today’s post is a sampling of what’s inside our new free download Slab Roller Techniques and Tips: A Guide to Selecting a Slab Roller and Making Slab Pottery. In it, Marcia Selsor demonstrates how tarpaper can be used as a molding material for slab building.
Handbuilding Video: A Surefire Way to Build Strong Handbuilt Sculptures
If you’ve ever had problems with appendages cracking off of handbuilt sculptures, today’s video might just help you solve that problem. In it, Patz Fowle explains the process she developed to avoid these unfortunate occurrences. Watch the video!
For the Birds: How Deborah Schwartzkopf Uses the Pottery Wheel Combined with Slabs and Molds to Create Her Avian Inspired Forms
Deborah Schwartzkopf’s work has gone to the birds – for inspiration that is. Using bisqued molds based on her observations of birds, Deborah makes work inspired by pelicans and loons and everything in between. Follow her through the process of creating molds and using them as forms for her assembled pots.
