Series: New Ceramics

With this essential guide from one of the UK’s leading contemporary studio potters, learn how to throw clay on the wheel.While a potter shaping clay on the wheel is both the iconic and familiar image we associate with ceramics, the skill is notoriously hard to learn. Using step-by-step photos and illustrations, Rebecca Proctor shows you how to master the potter’s...

An essential handbook for studio potters working towards achieving a fantastic spectrum of colourful glazes. Colour in Glazes teaches you all the methods for achieving colour in glazes, focusing on colouring oxides in detail, including the newly available rare earth oxides. Find out about the types of base glazes and the fluxes used to make them in relation to colour...

A contemporary guide to creating beautiful, translucent ceramics. Porcelain and bone china are known and prized for their fineness, delicacy, and translucence, but can be difficult to use and pose particular problems for the potters and ceramic artists using it. In Luminous Clay, bone china expert Angela Mellor aims to demystify these clays, encouraging more ceramists to explore these exciting...

The range of extraordinary effects that can be achieved in a kiln is infinite. However, the technical requirements of different firing processes and equipment can often seem intimidating, particularly for those new to ceramics, and this can limit artists' confidence to explore and experiment. In Firing Kilns, wood-fire potter Benedict Brierley demystifies the firing process, explaining key methods and effects...

A comprehensive introduction to the use of additions in clay bodies, from stones and glass to fibre, metals and colour. Clay body additions can introduce remarkable new forms and textures in ceramic work. With an emphasis on creativity and experimentation, ceramicist Kathleen Standen advises you on a range of possible effects and profiles the extraordinary work of contemporary makers using...

From extracting clay to exporting your work, this is a practical guide to producing unique ceramic pieces with minimal environmental impact. Being a green potter is not an easy feat. Historically, a lot more attention is given to the finished pieces coming out of the kiln rather than to the damages made throughout the designing and making processes. However, as...

A comprehensive guide to developing unique glaze effects from natural and sustainable sources. Making your own glazes is a fascinating and rewarding process, even more so when making them from collected ingredients. With little equipment and following a few basic principles, it is possible to harvest glaze ingredients from your local environment, such as clay, subsoil, plants, and seashells, to...

Discover the world of possibilities offered by paperclay with basic and more advanced techniques. Now firmly established in the ceramics world, paperclay is a vital part of the modern clay artist and potter's repertoire. The workability of this material allows expressive freedom and imagination at every stage in the creative process, from wet to dry. Paperclay, made with new or...

A practical introduction to handbuilding with clay using techniques such as coiling and slab-building. Handbuilding with clay offers a unique opportunity to experiment, requiring few tools, and allowing intuition and imagination to come to the fore. In this overview of a fast-developing practice, artist Claire Loder teaches you time-honoured methods of handbuilding, as well as introducing you to the fascinating...

A complete guide to fantastic special effects glazes for studio potters. From drippy and crackle to ash and lichen glazes, experienced ceramicist Linda Bloomfield guides you through the world of special effect glazes. Beautifully illustrated with pieces from both emerging and established potters that showcase stunning copper oxide-blues, metallic bronzes, and manganese-pink crystal glazes, Special Effect Glazes is packed full...