Handbuilding Pottery Masterclass

This title features practical techniques for handbuilding and making moulds in modern ceramics. It offers a clear and accessible guide to three key ceramic techniques - handbuilding, making and using a variety of moulds, as well as glazing and firing. It contains expert advice on techniques such as pinching, coiling, slab building, extrusion, clay relief and decorating into clay. You can learn how to make plates and lidded boxes, elegant raku vessels and figurative work. It presents comprehensive step-by-step instructions and a photograph of each finished project. It includes information on all you need to follow the techniques in the book: how to set up a workshop, choose and prepare clay, and all the tools necessary for the creation of ceramics. This book offers a sound practical knowledge of the main ceramic methods, for both beginners and more experienced potters who want to enrich and extend their approach to design and technique. Chapters feature clear step-by-step explanations, brought to life with examples of contemporary work. A selection of projects, which refer back to the illustrated techniques, appears at the end of the book. Ideas range from a coiled snake, a human figure, and a squirrel-shaped teapot, to elegant raku vessels, lidded boxes and a burnished plate. Each project is the original work of a talented potter, and gives the reader insights into how to combine design ideas and techniques. Even for professionals, working with clay and its related materials is a continual learning process. Both accessible and inspiring, this volume uncovers the creative secrets of working with day.