Blog
Throwing Classical Porcelain in Jingdezhen, China
by Steve Brousseau Article courtesy Ceramics Technical © The Author Jingdezhen classical porcelain is unlike any other clay. Westerners have described its properties as like throwing cottage cheese. The first porcelain of late 10th century Song Dynasty consisted of one ingredient, chinastone felspar, petunze in the local dialect. The rock was ground into a paste by water-powered hammer mills,... Read More
Michael Cardew 1901-1980
Nigerian Field Vol 66 Pt.2 Oct 2001 – Michael Cardew and the Abuja Potters by Liz Moloney The following article is courtesy of the Nigerian Field Society and the author Liz Moloney. © Nigerian Field Society. Photos by Doig Simmonds ©1959. Donations may be made to the society via UK Vice President, Joyce Lowe, emailunitedkingdominfo@nigerianfield.org. The... Read More
BINDAPUR POTTERS AS DOCUMENTED IN 1980
By Ron du Bois, Professor Emeritus, Oklahoma State University, U.S.A. Bindapur is a village of 700 potters located on the outskirts of Delhi, India’s capital city. Here are some of the nations one million seven hundred thousand potters, called kumbars. This community has more than 200 houses of potters. It is devoid of modern facilities such... Read More
Andalucia’s New Golden Pottery
Written and Photographed by Tor Eigeland Reprinted with kind permission of Saudi Aramco World and the author. Jun’s palace is called Pabellón de las Artes. And what is the connection? We’ll have to enter Jun’s Pavilion of the Arts to find out. A massive iron door slides open easily, and we enter a bright, spacious museum that, in... Read More
Alternative Glaze Materials
Author John Britt investigates the use of common household materials to create unique glazes. Cat Litter, Antacid and other non-traditional glaze materials. (Alternative Glaze Materials for the Modern Potter) Celadon Ewer, 8” x 5” x 4”, wheel thrown and assembled, porcelain, cone 10 gas fired reduction, Satin Green Glaze, 2000. In ancient times potters did not have... Read More
Abundant Beauty
Article by Alice Simpson Dolly Dimples, Baby Thelma, Baby Ruth, Jolly Nellie, and other Circus Fat Folks’ true life obsession with food was, like my own obsession with clay, their deepest joy and the defining passion of their lives. Many of us, men AND women, struggle with “hungers,” yearnings for pleasures be it food, love,... Read More
Wet Firing
I was recently surprised to hear of a fast firing technique called ‘wet firing’. With this technique pots are fired ‘wet’, i.e. they can be fired straight after throwing and taking off the wheel. Normally when you try to fire a wet piece, it blows up in the kiln. Why does clay do this? It... Read More
Glaze Defects and Their Remedies
There are many things that can go wrong with a glaze. Even after testing and compensating for the composition of local ingredients when using recipes from the Glaze Page or other countries, lots of things can go wrong. Here is a description of the most common glaze defects and some suggestions on how to fix them. Crazing... Read More
S-Cracks and How to Avoid Them
S-cracks are something almost anyone working on a potter’s wheel will have experienced at some stage or another. What is an s-crack? An s-crack is a crack that appears in the maturation firing. It has the shape of an ‘S’. It can happen with stoneware, but also with lower fired earthenware clays. Porcelains can especially... Read More
Making a Simple Plaster Mold
Plaster molds are used in ceramics to pour multiples of a single object with liquid clay (slip). Making a mold can be a daunting task, depending on its complexity. Mold making is a highly skilled and highly payed job, e.g. with large ceramics companies like Rosenthal or Royal Doulton. On the other hand, anyone can... Read More
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