Pottery Video of the Week: How to Dress up a Wheel Thrown Bowl with Curves
The cereal bowl selection at my house consists mainly of all of my reject bowls from over the years. It’s a motley crew of old, wonky pieces that make me want to reach for the nearest sledgehammer every time I open the cupboard. So I am on a mission: to replace them with more recent work that is finally feeling a bit more resolved and successful. So since I am bowl obsessed, I thought I would share an inspirational bowl video. In this clip, an excerpt from her DVD Creating Curves with Clay (which is now available ad a digital download!), Martha Grover demonstrates how she dresses up a basic ice cream or cereal bowl with curves inspired by orchids and flowing dresses. Enjoy!
How to Make a Small Simple Pitcher on the Potter’s Wheel
Today we are debuting another one of our DVDs that we shot on location in Bakersville, North Carolina, last summer: Pouring Vessels: Making and Decorating Expressive Functional Pottery, with Suze Lindsay. Since we were on location, in addition to the excellent technical demonstrations, Suze discusses pots from her amazing collection off contemporary functional pottery and how they influence her work. In this clip, Suze demonstrates a simple pitcher form and gives great advice on tackling various pitcher components like making spouts, and pulling handles off the pot. – Jennifer Harnetty, editor.
How to Make Agateware Vessels on the Pottery Wheel
In today’s post, an excerpt from the January/February 2010 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated, Michelle Erickson and Robert Hunter explain the important considerations potters need to make when making agateware and demonstrate throwing agateware on the pottery wheel.
How to Throw an Oblong Bowl on the Potters Wheel
We recently featured a square baking dish project on the blog (with a rhubarb crisp recipe too!), but today I thought I would point out that you can use that technique to make all shapes and sizes of baking dishes or bowls. In this post Richard Phethean shows how he makes an asymmetric bowl in a similar way. I really like how he contrasted the asymmetric shape in the finished pot (at left) with a spiral mark on the floor of the pot. Have a look and then see what kind of shapes you can come up with. – Jennifer Harnetty, editor.
Video of the Week: How to Whack Your Wheel Thrown Pottery into Shape
Everyone who is learning to throw on the pottery wheel has probably had moments when they wanted to give the clay a whack (or throw it across the room). But this doesn’t necessarily have to be a result of frustration. A good thwack can actually be a nice aesthetic touch. In today’s video, Robin Hopper demonstrates how to throw a bowl and then square it off with a paddle to make a great surface for decorating. – Jennifer Harnetty, editor.
Three Tips for Throwing Smarter and Stronger
There have been many times in my wheel throwing career that I have thought, “I just can’t throw large pots. I am not strong enough.” But I have learned over the years that to throw big, you don’t need brawn. You need brains!! There are tons of smart ways to approach throwing large. In today’s post, an excerpt from the May/June 2013 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated, I am sharing three great tips for throwing large from potter Claire O’Conner. – Jennifer Harnetty, editor.
You Say Neriage, I Say Nerikomi…No Matter What You Call it, Mixing Colored Clays Makes for Gorgeous Pottery Surfaces
Today Robin Hopper explains the distinction between neriage and nerikomi, as it was explained to him by Thomas Hoadley, a long time colored clay aficionado. He also explains how to create a lovely marbled rim bowl like the one shown at left.
Pottery Video of the Week: A New Twist on a Faceted Bowl
In today’s post, an excerpt from his DVD Lively Forms and Expressive Surfaces (which is now shipping by the way!!), Mark Peters shares a new twist that he came up with for faceting pots. By making the cuts while the pot is still cylindrical and adjusting the way the wire moves through the clay, Mark creates an interesting alternative to the typical faceted surface.
How to Make a Square Baking Dish and Fill it with Rhubarb Crisp
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.
The 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, 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.
