Potter's Studio Handbook A Start-to-Finish Guide to Hand-Built and Wheel-Thrown Ceramics

by Muller, Kristin

• ISBN13: 9781592533732
• ISBN10: 1592533736
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-01
• Publisher: Quarry Books

Summary

Pottery making and wheel throwing is a timeless craft, perfect for beginner crafters and artisans who don't mind getting a little dirty. Even if you haven't touched clay since your childhood art class, let The Potter's Studio Handbook guide you through the process of designing and equipping your own ceramic studio, teaching you the techniques that will have you generating clay projects in no time. Once the techniques are mastered, this guide will remain an invaluable resource to all clay artists, one that will stay in the studio for years to come. Teaches hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques using full-color photographs, diagrams, and the reassuring voice of a veteran instructor, Illustrates the steps for creating beautiful, functional projects at home, such as teapots, vases, dinner plates, and more-16 total! Shares pottery tips that help you select and prepare clay, construct slab projects, throw and center clay on the wheel, experiment with glazes, fire your project to perfection, and much more. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Kristin Muller has been a ceramic artist for twenty years and an arts administrator for ten. Currently the education director for Brookfield Craft Center in Brookfield, Connecticut, she has been teaching ceramics there for more than thirteen years. She holds a bachelor of science in studio arts with a concentration in ceramics from Southern Connecticut State University. Kristin has attended countless seminars and workshops with leading potters and clay artists and is currently an MFA candidate at Hood College. She has a studio and wood-fired Anagama kiln in eastern Pennsylvania, and she exhibits her work nationally and internationally.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 8
Introduction	p. 10
Studio requirements and properties of clay	p. 14
Your studio	p. 16
Workspace Considerations	p. 16
Physical Requirements for Setting up a Studio	p. 16
Planning the Placement of Tools and Equipment	p. 25
Tools and equipment	p. 28
Essential Equipment	p. 28
Tools for Hand Building	p. 32
Tools for Wheel Work	p. 33
Clay	p. 38
Types of Clay	p. 40
Choosing a Clay Supplier	p. 41
States of Clay	p. 42
Conversion of Clay Through Fire	p. 45
Ceramic Temperatures	p. 47
Preliminary clay techniques	p. 50
Managing Clay Consistency	p. 51
Wedging	p. 51
Shrinkage and Drying	p. 54
Keeping the Studio Clean	p. 55
Reclaiming and Recycling Clay	p. 56
Hand building	p. 58
Pinch Pots	p. 58
Stamping Clay	p. 62
Slab Construction	p. 62
Cutting and Joining Slabs	p. 63
Slump and Hump Molds	p. 67
Coil Building	p. 67
Throwing on the potter's wheel	p. 72
Setting Up the Wheel and Stool	p. 74
Potter's Wheel Dynamics	p. 74
Developing Skills Through Repetition	p. 76
Pottery Forms	p. 76
Basic Wheel Techniques	p. 76
Troubleshooting Common Throwing Problems	p. 88
Decorative and finishing techniques	p. 90
Choosing Glazes	p. 90
Glaze Chemistry Made Easy	p. 95
Safety Precautions	p. 98
Mixing Glazes	p. 98
Preparing Ware for Glazing	p. 102
Ceramic kilns and firing work	p. 108
Types of Kiln Firing	p. 108
Pyrometric Cones	p. 114
How to fire an electric kiln	p. 116
Choosing and Preparing Your Electric Kiln	p. 116
Bisque Firing	p. 119
Loading Green Ware for Bisque Firing	p. 120
Loading Glaze Ware for Glaze Firing	p. 122
Keeping a Kiln Log and a Glaze Journal	p. 126
Common Flaws in Glazes	p. 127
Cooling the Kiln	p. 127
Unloading the Kiln	p. 128
A step-by-step guide to hand-building and pottery wheel projects	p. 130
Hand-building projects	p. 132
Slab Plates	p. 134
Whimsical Teapot	p. 136
Coiled and Paddled Jar	p. 139
Beginning wheel projects	p. 142
Faceted Utensil Holder	p. 144
Bottles and Vases	p. 147
Pitchers	p. 149
Batter Bowl with Handle	p. 152
Set of Mugs	p. 154
Throwing Bowl Forms	p. 156
Shaping a Constant Curve and Using a Throwing Rib	p. 158
Principles of Trimming	p. 158
Trimming Multiple Forms	p. 160
Guide to Trimming Clay	p. 160
Intermediate wheel projects	p. 164
Plates and Platters	p. 166
Trimming a Plate	p. 168
Chip and Dip Dish	p. 169
Casserole with Lid and Handles	p. 171
Teapot with Lid, Spout, and Handle	p. 175
Two-Part Vase	p. 180
Sources of Inspiration	p. 183
Conclusion	p. 183
Resources	p. 184
Glossary	p. 186
Index	p. 189
Acknowledgments	p. 191
About the Author	p. 192
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