Make It in Clay: A Beginner's Guide to Ceramics

In each chapter: Key Terms / Creative Exercises / Notes and Sketches

1. The Ceramics Studio

Early Pottery Methods

The Contemporary Studio

Ceramics Studio Equipment

2. About Clay

How Clay Was Formed

Types of Clay

Prepared Clay Bodies

Health and Safety

Ventilation

Personal Protection

Studio Health and Safety Rules

Clay Recipes to Mix

Wedging

3. Handbuilding

Aesthetic Considerations

History of Pinching

Tools

Hands as Tools

Collecting Tools

Pinching

History of Coiling

Making the Coils

Building with Coils

Scoring and Using Slip

Profile of a Potter: Juliet Thorne

Keeping Work Damp

Drying Your Work

4. Slabs and Tiles

History of Slabs

Making Slabs

Building with Slabs

Hard-edged Forms

Open Box to Sculpture

Soft Slab Construction

Tiles

Making Tiles

Drying Tiles

5. Sculpture

History of Sculpture

Relief Sculpture

Sculpture-in-the-Round

Sketching and Clay

Tools

Hands as Tools

Armatures

Building Hollow

Building Solid

Mixed Media and Installations

6. Molds

History of Molds

Hump Molds

Press Molds

Drape Molds

Slip Casting

7. The Wheel

History: From Turntable to Wheel

Learning to Throw

Types of Wheels

Centering

Opening

Pulling Up the Wall

Throwing a Mug

Pulling a Handle

Thrown Forms

Throwing a Vase

Throwing a Bowl

Profile of a Potter: Ross Spangler

Trimming

Altered Forms

8. Surfaces

History of Surfaces

Texture

Burnishing

Engobe and Slip

Sgraffito

Terra Sigillata

Oxides and Stains

Underglazes

Decorative Underglaze Techniques

Glazes

Mixing and Testing Glazes

Applying Glaze

Dipping a Glaze

Pouring Glazes

Spraying Glazes

Surface Treatments

Resist Methods

China Paints, Overglazes, and Enamels

9. Firing

History of Firing

What Happens in the Fire

Bisque Firing

Loading a Bisque Kiln

Monitoring the Kiln

Glaze Firing

Transformation

Oxidation and Reduction Atmospheres

Historical Raku

Contemporary Raku

Wood Firing

Salt-Glazing

Your Future in Clay

Profile: Ben Owen

Glossary

Further Reading

Index

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