Prepare to be Inspired, Enlightened and Enthralled...

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Dear friend,

If you're like me, you love pottery. The way a certain line catches the light. The cool, smooth feel of a bowl that could be as comfortable at home on your kitchen table or on display at a local gallery. Whether you make pottery yourself or follow the works of your favorite artists, Ceramic Arts Daily is your single best resource inside the potter's world.

Potters link us to our past
Pottery making is older than history, going back to the time before man kept a record of his daily life. Pottery was something essential then, at first…something to aid in the daily struggle for survival.

Later, as time wore on, people made the functional beautiful, decorating their pots with symbols and stories, imbuing the clay with a meaning beyond its basic use. These were our first pottery artists.

Each week, Ceramic Arts Daily showcases ceramic arts professionals who take their inspiration from their roots, their environment, their connection to that inner voice that demands expression. See how ceramic artists as diverse as, say, Ellen Currans, Gabriele Koch, and Leigh Taylor Mickelson approach their work. Get inside the potter's head. Look at the world through their eyes. Feel the clay as it takes shape under their inspired vision.

Free Ceramic Arts Handbook

The Ceramic Arts Handbook gives you the basics of pottery making in clear, direct language. Use it as your blueprint or your checklist for setting up or restocking your studio. Get a simple list of what's really important for pottery, and what can wait. The Ceramic Arts Handbook is yours free when you become a Charter Subscriber to Ceramic Arts Daily!

The Ceramic Arts Handbook includes:

• Basic information for the studio potter on forming, decorating, and firing techniques
• Glossaries of common studio ceramic terms and common raw materials
• Information on studio safety
• Overviews on tools, equipment and supplies
• Basic information about materials and how they are used

 

You'll gain valuable insights:

• Understand clay at a new level
• Get tips on techniques to get more value out of limited studio time
• Improve your skills with a better understanding of materials and techniques.

Ceramic Arts Daily tells you about potters and how they work—their creative process, the genesis of their style, and how they create and develop their work—right down to the details of the type of clay bodies they chose, the glaze they used, the firing temperature—all the little details you need to really understand how their work came into being.

Ceramic Arts Daily tells you about potters and how they work—their creative process, the genesis of their style, and how they create and develop their work—right down to the details of the type of clay bodies they chose, the glaze they used, the firing temperature—all the details you need to really understand how their work came into being.

Ceramic artists in Ceramic Arts Daily know what pottery is all about. It's about community. It's about sharing. It's about spreading the beauty of pottery for the sheer joyful expression of it, or for the luxury of having pottery that bridges the distance between the purely aesthetic and the beautifully functional.

Whether you like to keep things simple, or you want to branch out and try something new, Ceramic Arts Daily will inspire and inform you. Consider three ceramic artists and their different but equally elegant approaches to ceramic arts:

Ellen Currans takes her inspiration from the clean lines of Scandinavian furniture designs and the spare angles of Northwestern architecture. Clay emerges from her slab roller and ends as a unique blend of textures and insights. Gabriele Koch transforms the simple vessel from an essential form to an abstract expression of movement and stillness. She sees her project development as organic, where one form acts as the seed for the next. Her forms are slipped and burnished after a meticulous slow drying process. Leigh Taylor Mickelson breathes life into the still life form. Her stylized forms stack up on steel rods to create her own individual expression. Her pieces are usually handbuilt, using a variety of techniques and clay bodies. She low fires her pieces to get surfaces that look as organic as her shapes.

You'll be drawn in by the artists' stories. You'll be inspired by their work, and find confidence to try some of their techniques. With Ceramic Arts Daily, you'll learn a little bit of everything. Then you can choose the techniques you enjoy the most to create something new!

Get first-hand accounts of many ways to approach:

• Handbuilding
• Throwing
• Glazing
• Firing
• Raku
• Functional ceramics
• Ceramic sculpture
• Ceramic tile
• Ceramic art techniques

You'll also learn more about the tools prominent ceramic artists use and where they turn for supplies. Join the discussion of whether it's better to buy supplies ready-made or to experiment and make your own. You may be surprised at what you learn!

Become a Charter Subscriber to Ceramics Arts Daily! It's free! And so is the Ceramic Arts Handbook!  

Get started today with your free handbook. Then get ready for Ceramic Arts Daily to introduce you to accomplished artists and show you new techniques! Sign up for Ceramic Arts Daily today!

Here's to releasing the intrinsic artistry of clay,

Ginger Pullen,
Internet Marketing Manager, The American Ceramic Society

P.S. Strengthen your connection to the community of potters. The Ceramic Arts Handbook is yours free when you subscribe to Ceramic Arts Daily. Subscribe today. It's free!