Ten pottery making tips for the beginner

My top 10 pottery making tips for the beginner

1. Go to pottery making classes. Everyone has to learn somehow. Although it can be comforting to learn on your own it will be much more fun with others. In addition your skills will improve much quicker!

2. Don't be put off by the terminology! Pottery making uses some strange and quirky terms. But dont be put off! It wont be long before you know green ware from biscuit ware.

3. Be prepared to get dirty-you can tell a potter by his hands and shoes!Even with an apron it is impossible to stay clean when making pottery. Your hands and shoes will get dirty! Treat it as part of the fun so dress appropriately.

4. Enjoy the experience-dont be put off if it goes wrong!It goes wrong for everyone including the experts so don't be afraid to experiment. Remember that your designs are unique and you have the chance to express your own creativity.

5. Read some simple pottery making books. Lots of pottery books are available so choose books with simple descriptions and pictures to get you started. My recommendations can be found at www.pottersfriend.co.uk/books/list_books.php Books,however, are no substitute for classes but they should reinforce your learning.

6. Ask questions. Asking questions aids memory so you learn quicker. Don't be embarassed to ask even the most simple of questions. Remember you are probably only saying what many others are thinking!

7. Practise then practise some more!This probably should be my number 1 tip on the list. As with most things in life, the more you practise the more skilled you become and the more enjoyable will be the experience.

8. Develop your own style. Dont be afraid to experiment-its your chance to show your artistic flair.

9. Make some pots & give them away. It makes you feel good and you might even find a soul mate.

10. Share your experience with a loved one. Making pottery can become a real passion so dont forget to share your experiences with your loved one. They might even want to join you at the next pottery class.

For the more experienced potter why not visit my tips page at www.pottersfriend.co.uk/tips.php

Alternatively why not test your pottery knowledge with my quick pottery quiz www.squidoo.com/potteryquiz

Making pottery-simply art or sophisticated science?

As I was watching an experienced potter throw beautiful shapes recently it made me reflect 'how incredibly simple it seems in the hands of a true expert'! Starting from a lump of clay, shaping it into an interesting form, drying, finishing, glazing, and firing can take up to 2 weeks. A labour of love to create that special unique piece! But those who have tried to make pottery know that these are mere headings for skill, artistic flair,experience and a good deal of knowledge and science.

Incredibly, in the pottery industry where 'lean manufacturing' is all the rage they attempt to produce finished ware in a matter of hours! They breakdown every operation down to its most basic level (steps). Each step in the process is identified and the skill, tools, material, manpower and time required. By defining the process in this way it is possible to identify the number of steps and value of each step in an operation. Lean manufacturing philosophy requires the removal of waste in all its forms. Waste doesn't mean just waste material, but wasted human movement, wasted product movement, overprocessing, excess stock, not right first time, or wasted waiting time.

Often the target is to improve efficiency and the first step is to remove as many non value added steps as possible. An example of this might be to remove the clay ware from the sponge/fettling stage immediately to the biscuit kiln instead of to an intermediate storage area. Often by looking at operations in this way new or more robust ways of processing are identified and introduced.

"So what" I hear the true potter say-this means nothing to me. And he is right in some ways! It is often by trial and error that his artistic flair can flourish. A missed out glaze ingredient creates that wonderful new glaze colour or the kiln underfires showing unusual but unique glaze effects!

However he is also wrong in some ways. He has already adopted some of the lean principles without knowing it! Often the potters studio is laid out so all his tools, materials equipment are close at hand (thereby reducing waste movement). He recycles the clay and glaze (reduces waste materials) and tries to make a number of items at a time not just one (reduces waste time).

I believe that both the studio potter and industrial potter can learn from each other. The studio potter can learn to reduce waste allowing him the time to be more creative and the industrial potter can learn to be more creative in design allowing him to sell more product.

Surely making pottery is both a simple art and a sophisticated science! What do you think? I'd welcome your comments.

What is a glaze?

A mature pottery student recently asked me the question 'What is a ceramic glaze?' I hesitated whilst contemplating how to answer what initially seemed a very simple question. In the end I gave him 2 answers , a non technical one and a technical one. The precise amount of information he required depended much on how he wanted to use the information.

Sometimes too much information only leads to confusion!

For example an evening class student wanting only to paint pottery and later have it glazed and fired by an established potter needs only basic information.

In contrast a student studying pottery making and ultimately wishing to make and fire his own glazes needs a much more detailed chemical approach.

The Answers

These are the answers I gave him:-

1) A pottery glaze is a glassy coating applied to the surface of a ceramic to create a smooth, impervious, and decorative finish.

2) A pottery glaze is a mixture of ceramic materials which may often include minerals such as felspar and silica, a glass like component such as frit, clay as a suspending agent, and pigment as colouration. Many other minerals or oxides may also be used. These materials are finely ground in water to produce a glaze slip. Other organic and inorganic additives may at this stage be added to aid application. The slip is then applied to the ceramic body and fired to a sufficiently high temperature for the components to physically and chemically react to form a smooth glassy coating that bonds strongly to the body. Normally a temperature in excess of 1000C is required.

Do you have any simple questions you want answering? Please let me know.

More information on pottery making can be found at my website The PottersFriend

Pottery and ceramics find so many uses in our homes!

In these days of credit crunch blues, recent events have made it clear to me that the pottery making in the UK is still alive and well and doing fine. Unique designs and small scale production and customer service seem to be order of the day as the larger producers have been hit hardest by the downturn in the hotel and gift markets.

The term 'Pottery' is uniquely used by the general public to describe anything ceramic and we should not underestimate the impact these forms of ceramic have in our daily lives. Ceramics are evident in our homes in so many areas. Drink tea made with water purified with a ceramic filter in a bone china cup. Cook your evening meal on your ceramic cooker hob. Keep warm by sitting by your gasfire with its insulating ceramic bricks, and ceramic logs or pebbles. Take a shower in your bathroom lined with decorative ceramic wall and floor tiles, and your bespoke table top washbasin. Relax and read a book under the light from a sculpted ceramic lamp. You might even want to watch your TV with its many ceramic parts!

Even outside, ceramic pots of all shapes and sizes as well as other unique ceramic animals, toadstools, fairies, wind chimes, sun dials, coloured glass gravel and BBQ chimneys add individuality to our gardens.

Clearly many of these items are still made in the UK and provide employment and job satisfaction for many.

It is comforting to know that virtually all of these items are reusable in some way and should not find their way back to landfill sites. Keep selling the message 'ceramic is green' ! (Avid potters -sorry for the pun!)

I often wonder what the most unusual or surprising use for ceramic there is out there?

Please let me know if you find something interesting! For more ceramic information visit the Potters Friend's website www.pottersfriend.co.uk

Pottery Clinic

Glaze blister at high magnification

Post your questions about any pottery or ceramic matter.

All questions are welcome regardless of how simplistic they may appear !

My commitment is to respond in a timely fashion and to provide the best advice that I am able to based on my own perspective and the information provided.

I look forward to answering your questions

Learning to pottery blog

Today I learned to blog-is that the right term? Although not a technophobe I do believe most times 'its good to talk' as a rather outdated TV commercial once said. That said I am hoping that by embracing the latest social technology I can make contact with all those like myself who enjoy or have a passion for pottery and its making. Who knows it might be the start of a wider circle of friends?

My love for pottery has lasted over 30 years ever since I was introduced to the making of pottery 30 years ago. The decline in large scale pottery making over that time in the UK has been immense but it has left us still with a very rich heritage and many smaller but specialised potteries making everything from door knobs to large garden ceramics. Clearly there is still a lot of talent in the UK both in terms of design and making! If you are one of those or just starting up in pottery I'd be interested in your thoughts on the future of UK pottery plc!

More information on ceramics can be found at my website www.pottersfriend.co.uk