BODY AND MIND

I admit I did not have healthy work or personal habits when I found clay, and for the first few years I pursued it with a blinding passion. Unfortunately, I ended up doing a lot of harm to myself. I learned hard lessons when my mental and physical health suffered. I reached a breaking point where I almost gave up my clay career. From the outside, it might have looked like I was thriving in my profession (teaching workshops and selling ceramics), but I was miserable, unhealthy, exhausted, and had another year planned like the past one that had just broken me. Something had to change, and it wasn’t the clay—it was me. I realized my personal well-being wasn’t even on my to-do list. I had used the excuse that I didn’t have time for things like eating right or exercising. I realized it wasn‘t that I didn’t have the time; it was that it wasn’t a priority. That realization helped me sort out what my priorities should be.

I changed things dramatically, putting my well-being first, making changes to my personal life, and implementing new boundaries around my clay practice and career. Once I made these changes, there was no going back. My life and my work life got right-sized, and I am 100 percent better for it. I hope you will take a few of my suggestions in the spirit they are shared. Armed with basic information and good habits from the get-go, you will keep coming back to your clay practice happily and healthfully. I want you set up for success, and taking care of yourself is priority one.

If you drop in to your local studio, keep in mind every studio setup is different, and they are often not set up with comfort, ergonomics, or the differently abled in mind. Setup is often centered around equipment, tables, shelving, and how many bodies can fit. Community studios can be physically uncomfortable, as tables and chairs may be the wrong size for your body or wrong for how you like to work. Equipment is designed to be one size fits all. (I still haven’t met the person for whom it fits perfectly!)

With more than twenty years working in clay, traveling far and wide, and through trial and error, I learned what will keep my body and brain happy in the studio. In this section is the knowledge I have gleaned along the way, questions I have asked myself, and behaviors that have helped keep me healthy and sane. As we are all different, take what works for you and leave the rest. As with anything, if you have concerns with your own body and your physical and mental practice, consult a trusted resource.

NOTEBesides physical conditions and materials, there are toxic attitudes and practices that can come along with shared spaces. Racism, sexism, ablism, elitism, and entitlement are all things we have not escaped in the ceramics field. Sometimes, because of the nature of a small business, those behaviors have been left unchecked. We, as a community, have a very long way to go toward inclusive and equitable spaces. There has been a pay-your-dues mentality when it comes to those -isms, and even learning ceramics information and technology, meaning those who came before suffered so those coming after should as well. I reject that practice. Find your community (even if it’s just in these pages). Don’t let the fact that it is not perfect stop you in your creative journey.

• Do you want to work alone or alongside others?
• Does a community space have clear community guidelines and safety practices? A good practice is to talk to members in the studio before you sign up and get a feeling for the attitudes around the studio.
• What is the vibe of the place? Trust what your body tells you.
• Is there a studio manager? Are classes available? What are their policies for hiring teachers? Is there diversity in the teacher and student population?
• Do you want to sit or stand while working? Can you set up tables? Do the tables in the space suit your working needs?
• Do you want to invest in buying equipment and tools? This can be done slowly over time. Most of the time you will be able to find someplace to get your work fired for a nominal cost. I ran a successful business selling pottery without a kiln for more than a decade! It is doable.
• Is there heat and air-conditioning? (Clay as a material should always be stored in temperatures above freezing.)
• How is the lighting? Is it natural light or are you in a basement/warehouse with only fluorescent lighting?
• Do you have space for some shelving? Is there storage for your clay and tools?
• Will you have to carry heavy bags of clay up and down stairs?
• Will you have to transport greenware?
• Can you comfortably get around the space? Are there any obvious hazards?
• How much space do you really need? (This question is so simple but so important. I notice folks always taking up a lot of space, but I have realized I can make do with my corner of the table and a small cache of tools perfectly well. Space is nice, but don’t overdo it!)

NOTEStay hydrated! This is a really important factor in both studio and non-studio life. There have been so many times when I forget to drink water while working. I end up battling a headache and fatigue and lose my ability to focus on details. I usually leave the studio because I am miserable. Keep that water bottle nearby, and hopefully your studio has a bathroom!

You’ll find recommended stretches on these pages, most of which are what I call “opposite work.” They help you open yourself back up after all the hunched or closed-in postures you’ll get into while working. If you can remember, drop your shoulders, move your hands and fingers around, and stand up and move at a minimum of every hour.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

I like to think of all ceramics knowledge and skill as a pie, and that whole pie is way too much for me to eat. Just as I am never going to sit down and eat a whole pie, I will never know all there is to know in the clay realm. I only fancy myself an expert in one tiny sliver of the clay knowledge pie, and I have been working in that sliver for the past twenty-plus years.

This book and the projects within are your beginning introduction to ceramics. My goal is to give you a taste of some of the possibilities of clay. The galleries are meant to show you a small glimpse of what’s possible with hand-building skills. I want to add to your toolbox of skills while trying to excite your creative mind. Not every project will be your kind of project, and that’s okay. I urge you give them all a try: you will learn some new skills, and maybe surprise yourself with a new interest. (I did when coming up with the projects for this book. I would have never imagined how much fun it was to make little clay creatures. I had a blast, and it engaged a whole playful part of myself I didn’t realize was just beneath the surface of my self-imposed seriousness!) This is your adventure, so you can always skip ahead to a section that really sparks your interest. That excitement is a great place to start.

With that in mind, go forth and enjoy. Remember to have fun. Remember that failure is part of the process. Remember to rest. Be present. Enjoy your clay adventure!

CLAY

Clay is where we start. If we were painters, it would be a blank canvas. To start, I recommend you try all the clays that excite you. Like with everything in life, you will find your preferences—some aesthetic and some technical. The magic of making is not in the clay; the magic is in me and you. My dexterity and competency with clay comes from years of playing around with many different clays, learning the various properties and rules for certain clays, and most important, from knowing how I prefer to work with clay. We all have tendencies that become apparent when we work. By choosing certain types of clay to work with, you can lean into your strengths and increase your chances of successful outcomes. That “magic” comes with trial and error and experience.

In the beginning of this clay journey, you might run into a language barrier. In grad school, we would sometimes gather for a dinner party, and it inevitably happened that one of the grads would start talking clay, and you could almost hear the inward groan of the significant others in attendance. Just like any subculture, the language around the topic can seem very mysterious and technical and, at times, alienating. In this section, I want to give an overview and foundation of the language around clay and its properties in layman’s terms, so you don’t get lost when folks start talking clay.

Clay chemistry is not what excites me . . . I love making. I am not a clay technology person; I learn what I need to and leave the rest until I have a need to learn it. If the technical stuff excites and interests you, there are lots of resources out there for you. I feel lucky to have had two kinds of teachers, one of whom had amazing technical knowledge and interest. He forced me to learn enough to ask smart questions and problem-solve when I had technical difficulty. The second was a teacher/mentor who wondered why I was spending all my time making clay instead of making with clay. He helped me get out of the bog that can be the technical side of ceramics. Although there is a place for learning the technical stuff, you can easily head to the clay store, grab a bag of clay, and start making! Part of this journey is to find a balance between the technical and the artistic and how you want to participate. My hope is that with a cursory understanding of the language used around clay spaces, you will have a good foundation to start understanding what is possible with clay, and the confidence to navigate deeper, if you so desire.

You have probably experienced digging in the dirt or maybe walking near a river and finding some clay: it presents as sticky, slimy, and very compact dirt. Although technically clay, this is not what we work with in the modern studio practice. Today most commercial clays and clay recipes are formulated to have more plastic qualities, making the clay very workable in most hand-building or throwing situations. Historically most clays were what we call short—they lacked some of the materials that make the clay more elastic (plastic). The difficulty of working with shorter clays is why most early pottery was made with hand-building techniques, as it was not possible to stretch the clay (as desired with wheel throwing) like we do nowadays with most commercial clays.

Some electric kilns are set up with a cone sitter, where a small cone for your goal temperature is placed. Once the goal temperature is hit, the kiln shuts off; cone sitters are a great safety feature to save you from overfiring. For gas or atmospheric firing, cones are more commonplace. You need to know the current temperature range and when to adjust it.

Learning to fire kilns is very daunting—it is a raging inferno in there! If you are interested in learning more about electric, gas, or atmospheric firings, there are many book resources out there. I also advise finding an experienced teacher who is willing to teach you. Kiln firing is something that requires practice and problem-solving, so having firsthand guidance is really the way to go. For our purposes, I want you to understand that cone numbers, such as cone 6 or cone 04, refer to a predetermined temperature range, and it is important to know in what range you are working regarding clay and glaze. My practice has been geared toward working in electric kilns; they can work in all the temperature ranges, so there are lots of options, and electric kilns tend to be very accessible and ubiquitous in most ceramics spaces.

For more information on the actual temperatures in Celsius and Fahrenheit and what a cone chart looks like, look up an Orton cone chart.

EARTHENWARE

Earthenware is ceramic ware made of slightly porous opaque clay fired at low heat. A common misconception about earthenware is that it is always red, or that all red clay is earthenware. Terra-cotta planters are what spring to mind. Earthenware clay can be red or white, depending on the types of materials used to create the clay body. One of the main drawbacks of earthenware clay is that if it is fired over 04 it turns into a puddle or bloats or some other undesirable outcome! Another quality to consider is that earthenware remains somewhat porous after it’s fired, meaning it will still absorb water. I call this feature punky. Earthenware is not vitrified clay; once a piece is fired to completion, a vitrified clay body will ring if you flick it with your finger. If you perform the same action on an earthenware pot it often sounds hollow or makes a “thunk” sound.

One of the great qualities about earthenware is that it’s usually quite smooth in texture. Traditionally, earthenware has been used for flowerpots and cookware, most notably. Earthenware’s openness means it has the ability to expand and contract in heat, which makes it a very good clay for cookware. Some of my favorite pots in the world are Spanish earthenware cookware. One of the perks of this low-fire clay body is its ability to develop brightly colored glazes at low temperatures.

Earthenware is a great clay and has lots of wonderful attributes, but also a couple of drawbacks. Because of its porosity, it can break down more than other clay bodies that are more vitrified, or impermeable to water. That bit of punkiness means the fired clay body can chip more easily, and regular use can wear down the strength of the clay. The fact that it’s porous means whatever glaze you use on it needs to be non-crazing (no breaks in the glaze surface) and nontoxic, especially if it’s going to be used for food service. If it’s not going to be used for food, a wider variety of glazes can be applied. Another drawback is that earthenware tends to not have very good greenware (unfired pottery) strength, meaning it can become brittle when it is drying and bone dry.

One of porcelain’s amazing attributes is its ability to achieve translucency, meaning you can see shapes and light through it. Translucent porcelain is thin and has been fired at high temperatures. It is also extremely strong and versatile, used in dishware and even in space shuttles!

Get ready for a challenge, though. Porcelain can soften and warp during firings. It is prone to developing cracks. If you choose to explore porcelain, be patient as there is a learning curve. Porcelain can be challenging to work with, but its beauty is rewarding.

Untraditionally, glaze surface can also mean any kind of coating on your ceramic work. Room-temperature glaze: paint! After your final firing, paint or other materials like flocking can be applied. Usually this is used for sculpture or nonfunctional work. This is more in the realm of mixed-media surface design.

NOTEA word on shrinkage. Every clay body shrinks as it goes from its wet state to greenware to bisque to glaze fired. Most clays have a shrinkage rate of around 10 percent, plus or minus. It’s something to think about, but not worry about. If you are curious, make some shrink bar tests. Roll out a small slab, measure out a 5 inch (12.7 cm)-long line (ten ½ inch [26.7 cm]-long segments), and make vertical marks at the ends. Then fire to the desired temperature and measure it again. That is a really quick way to find out how much your clay shrinks.

Workability Stages

Some raw material ceramic ingredients can also be hazardous. It is recommended when working with dry ingredients in clay or glaze mixing to wear a respirator. Most ceramic supply stores will have them available. Remember to change the filter cartridges regularly if using a lot and store in a dust-free container. Studios with access to raw materials should have hazardous materials marked. Check the list of online resources (here) to find lists of particularly hazardous materials.

A serious health hazard in regular studio life is silica dust. This is problematic if it is airborne and breathed into the lungs. Serious health problems (such as silicosis) can result with long-term exposure. The following are two easy safety precautions:

• DO NOT sand or scrape bone-dry clay. It can be very tempting to try to save work that has unexpectedly dried out or that you forgot about on a shelf. When you sand it when it’s dry, you create a lot of dust particles. You may be willing to risk it for yourself (with a mask on), but it is a bad habit. Remember, if you are in a shared studio, there are people in the studio who are there every day, all day long, and there‘s a lot of dust that can be created daily. So be mindful and a be good ceramic neighbor and avoid this practice.
• Keep your work area clean. Try to clean up your clay debris as you go, especially if it is still in a greenware state; it can easily be swept up and put into a reclaim bucket or trash. The best way to clean up is to use water and a sponge to clean your tabletop. For the floor, try not to sweep or only spot sweep with a small brush and tray. Mop with water to get the fine particles. Each studio will have protocols in place; be sure to follow those safety guidelines. If you are in your own space, make up your own guidelines and keep to them. There is nothing like red clay footprints tracked around your house to know you have been playing with clay, and what was a simple cleanup job just turned into a much bigger problem!

TOOLS

Sometimes not having the right tool keeps us from getting started. How often have you been about to get something started and then realized you need something to get that chore or project off your list? How about the home project that requires seven trips to the hardware store? It is beyond frustrating. I don’t want that to be your experience playing in clay.

I am frequently asked about my tools or what my favorite tool is in my collection. We ceramic folks tend to be tool addicts. Although I have a few essential tools, and definitely a few I rely on heavily in my clay practice, I realized something a long while ago when I was asked to write out a response to a question about what my most essential tool was in the studio. My answer was me. I am the most important tool in my studio. If I don’t show up, nothing happens. Just like the magic is not in the clay, the magic is also not in the tools you use. The most essential tool in your studio practice is you!

I want you to remember that when that procrastination chatter starts in your head or when you see a new intimidating skill in this book or demonstrated elsewhere. There are lots of ways to do things and a very few essential tools that will get you started. I have whittled down the number of tools in my studio over the past twenty years. That doesn’t mean I don’t have a plethora of tools in my studio—I hate to throw them away, as I might need them. Here I have tried to keep the tool list to the minimum types of tools you might need to get started, i.e., the stuff you need to be productive but can put in one box and stash easily when you are not using it. Not all of us have access to studios or the space to set up a home studio. I don’t want that to be a limiting factor for you.

We are often presented with images of folks in picture-perfect studios, and lament that our workspace is so shabby. Let me tell you, I have had countless studios over the years . . . some have been picture-perfect, but many more have been less than perfect, especially in the beginning of my clay journey. Early on in my career, I was traveling to three different adjunct teaching jobs, each more than an hour apart from the other, and I didn’t have a studio of my own. One of the ways I made that work was to have a “portable studio” in the car—a box with my essential tools and a bag of clay. I could work anyplace I was. I was my studio, and the resources I needed could be pieced together within the community spaces in which I was teaching. I promise you can get started with just the bare minimum of tools and some clay, because you already have the most important element: you!

Tools and Materials

BANDING WHEEL: The banding wheel is the best friend of the hand builder. With practice, it is a tool of efficiency and flexibility. When you are just starting, it can seem like a clunky, spinning mess. Slow down and try a few skills, such as centering, keeping the work in the middle of the wheel. It should look still when spinning, that’s how you know its centered. Collaring in, after you have managed centering and a bit of coil building. Collaring is using your hands or a rib and the spinning of the wheel to bring the top of your wall more towards the center. Tapering it and narrowing the opening. It takes some practice but is doable, it is a skill more common in wheel throwing. Also, you can center a cup or bowl on the wheel head and slow trimming feet with the aid of trim tools. Use a bat on top if you are not comfortable working directly on the wheel head. Play around, and eventually this insanely heavy tool will be indispensable to your practice.

NOTEThis is the one item in the basic kit that is an investment. Buying it can wait, or it can be made on the cheap with some materials from the hardware store. A good banding wheel will last you a lifetime and make your time as a hand builder much easier, so save your pennies and when you’re ready, invest in a nice heavy-duty banding wheel. No need to go big—I have an 8" (20.3 cm) tabletop Shimpo banding wheel that I use for everything!

BUCKET AND SPONGE: A bucket and sponge are essential for cleaning up your space, and the bucket can also be used to store your tools.

WOOD KNIFE: A wood knife is a must-have in my hand-building tool kit. It can be used as a refinement tool and for ribbing and compressing the interior of forms.

SCALPEL OR UTILITY KNIFE: A scalpel or utility knife (such as an X-ACTO knife) is a helpful tool for cutting and trimming clay.

TRIM TOOLS: A refinement and reductive carving tool originally used for “trimming” feet on a potter’s wheel, is a must-have.

METAL RIBS/PLASTIC SHERRILL RIBS: Having a few different styles of ribs on hand will help you master the ribbing action. Ribs come in all shapes and sizes and are surprisingly handy for cleaning up your work, compressing the clay, and texture application—they are a general must-have in the studio. Sherrill Mudtool ribs are a brand of plastic ribs that come in various shapes, and the colors indicate the firmness. I really like the yellow and green in shape 1 and 4. Also a small, red, shape 0 is really handy.

MKM DECORATING DISK: Measuring tool to use when dividing up makes for carving or decorating round objects.

CHEESE CUTTER: If I was to tattoo a tool onto my skin, this would be it. Unassuming in design, this is a wonderful tool for doing edge work, leveling off the clay, and getting clay out of the bag. It takes some practice to use, but when students watch me with my cheese cutter, they say it’s like I draw in the air with it.

CUT-OFF WIRE: Useful for cutting work off your banding wheel or getting clay out of your bag, this is an important tool to have.

SCORING TOOL: This is a really small but important tool used for making hatch marks that make it possible to create strong connections between clay attachments (e.g., attaching handles to scoops).

SEVERAL BRUSHES: Brushes are essential for glazing and applying water for attachments. Dry brushes are great at removing burrs and loose bits of clay on work.

NEEDLE TOOL: A needle tool is great for cutting out clay shapes. It’s not, I repeat, not a scoring tool, but it can be used as a surface decoration tool.

ROLLING PIN: Any kind of wooden rolling pin will work. I really like a pastry rolling pin (more like a large dowel). It offers a bit more length than your traditional rolling pin. If you are applying pressure with a regular rolling pin, you can have issues with the handles bending, as there is metal rod running through the center. Traditional rolling pins are more commonly used for cookies or pie dough, which has a lot more give than clay.

RULER: A general studio tool, a clear, wide ruler is handy because of its straight edge, but it’s also essential for making templates.

SUNSHINE STICK: This tool works both as a ruler and a leveling cut-off tool, when used with the cheese cutter.

HAND TOWELS: I use old bath towels cut into smaller tea-towel sizes. They’re good for cleaning up and drying your hands. Be sure to wash them often.

DRYWALL SANDPAPER: Drywall sandpaper comes in large sheets. Cut off 1" x 1" (2.5 x 2.5 cm) sections, crumple up to remove the grit, and it’s ready to go.

GREEN SCRUBBY SPONGE: Cut 1" to 2" (2.5 to 5 cm) strips of this sponge to have on hand.

MISTER (SPRAY BOTTLE): Check out Flairosol mist bottles. They create a fine mist of water and spray more evenly than a traditional spray bottle (but those will also work). [NOT PICTURED]

SURFORM: Grab one from the hardware store with some back up blades. This tool is traditionally a rasp used in woodwork.

DRYWALL BOARD/DIY WARE BOARDS: Some hardware stores have ready-made 3' (0.9 m) squares, which is awesome! If not, a regular-sized drywall board will go a very long way. I bring a utility knife with me to the hardware store to cut down the board to more manageable pieces to fit in my vehicle to get it to my studio. (Remember to place duct tape on the edges of the board to keep plaster from getting into your clay.) Same goes for plywood ware boards; have the hardware store cut them down to size—into thirds usually works—so you can get them home.Then you can cut them down for your specific needs. It’s a good idea to cut them to similar measurements, which helps for storage as well as placement on shelving. Ware boards are used to make on, transport, or store your work. Kind of a mini table to keep you works safe and stable. They can come in a variety of sizes, ones that you make on will be smaller than ones you use to store work. But it is a comfort thing, make ones that fit your making style, and your storage and shelving space. I have roughly 15–25 different ware boards in the studio, that is after 20 years of accumulation. Drywall boards are typically larger, 3" x 3" (7.6 x 7.6 cm) squares, and used for wedging or rolling out slabs. I usually have a couple for different clay bodies, they get tossed out after the paper starts ripping off and plaster is exposed. Don’t leave wet clay on drywall boards for extended periods of time to extend the life of the board.

FOAM: Pick up some foam from the fabric store. A 1' (30.5 cm) square that is 1" to 2" (2.5 cm to 5 cm) thick will make a great resting surface for work. You can cut it into a circle shape (the size of your studio bats) with a pair of scissors. It is always handy to have a couple of pieces of foam around . . . you never know when you might need them.

PENCIL/PEN, PAPER, SCISSORS: These tools are all handy for working out ideas and designing templates.

TAPE: Clear packing tape or masking tape is always handy in the studio.

PLIERS: I have a large toolbox in my studio with an assortment of tools (hand drills, screwdrivers, wrenches, Dremel tool and bits), but for the projects in this book I reached for several needle-nose pliers, which are handy for shaping and cutting wire.

EPOXY/MOLDABLE GLUE, SUCH AS SUGRU: Optional. Epoxy is sometimes used to piece together work after the firing, or even on some tools with unwanted sharp edges (rasps). There are lots of types of epoxy. PC-7 is a heavy-duty, two-part epoxy that is great for strong structural applications. Products such as Sugru (a colored epoxy-type material) are more decorative and elastic feeling. Explore the hardware store to get an idea of what might work for your needs.

DRILL BITS: I have a dedicated set of drill bits specifically for clay use. Once they have touched clay, they are often not great for other applications, as they become dull and worn down by the clay. I have used the same set for a decade in my clay practice. Find an inexpensive set and label it for clay use. If I don’t use the bits with a drill, which is totally an option, I add some epoxy to the ends to make them more comfortable for hand use.

NICHROME OR KANTHAL WIRE: You’ll see Nichrome and Kanthal wire photographed in a few of the projects in this book. They come in several gauges and will survive the firing process. Not all wire will survive the heat of the kiln. Be very cautious of wire not labeled for ceramic use.

Some of the tools in this list are readily available in community studios. Borrow what you can. It is really nice to have your own set of tools once you know what you like. Pay attention to what you use and what feels good for your hands, and the tools that are essential to you will present themselves.

MISCELLANEOUS TERMS AND CONCEPTS

When you first start working in clay, it can feel like you signed up for a foreign language class and didn’t realize it. There are so many new terms and ideas that it can be difficult to understand. Don’t worry—you will learn as it applies to you. If you are anything like me, if you don’t need to know the information, you won’t commit it to memory. When your interest starts to grow, and as you gain more experience, the more you will hold on to the information you need!

What follows are some of those terms and concepts that don’t link directly to a specific foundational skill but are used often in reference to making with clay. This knowledge will help you navigate this new world of clay.

NOTEIf I’ve covered a term in another section, it will not appear here (e.g., for states of clay information, turn to here). Also, I have tried to link connecting terms and concepts to foundational skills. Turn to here for more information.

ADDITIVE: Additive refers to any process in which clay is added to an object. An easy example is scoring and slipping a handle to a mug. Most hand-building techniques are additive: coil building, slab building, and so on. Also, any accoutrements, such as handles or knobs, are additive, as well as greenware decorative techniques, such as under-glaze or slip.

DESIGN: This is a big concept in a tiny word. In the context of clay and making, it can refer to both form and surface development. It is frequently used in reference to the function of objects, but it can also be used in discussion about abstract sculpture. There are lots of books and essays out there on theories of design. You can dive deep into the education of the design world, if so inclined. For this book, we mostly use this term with regard to using your senses and your aesthetic eye to develop a pleasing, useful, (fill in the blank) object, be it functional or abstract.

EDGE WORK: Edge work refers to how you choose to finish an edge. It can be soft or tooled, meaning you can use your fingers or a sponge or a sharper tool, such as a scalpel or cheese cutter. All edges (termination points) should be considered and refined, but it is a choice left to the maker. Time and practice will help guide your aesthetic choices.

PINCHED EDGE: This refers to using your fingers and thumb to finish the edge of a form, leaving a softer, less sharp look to the lip of an object. This technique can be used directionally to give a very different effect to the edge of an object, making it appear more open or more enclosed.

TOOLED EDGE: Tooled edge refers to a finished edge with sharp, clean marks made by an implement, rather than a softer edge that has been obviously worked by hand.

GRIDDING: Gridding is the practice of using some kind of measuring tool (such as a ruler or measuring disc) to make lines on your form to create concentric circles or lines. This technique is often used to decorate or cut out shapes in an object.

REDUCTIVE: Reductive refers to any process, such as carving, scraping, surforming, or trimming, that removes clay from an object. This term is often used to describe refining shape or form, or as a decorative surface technique.

ROUGH OUT: A rough out is the quick pulling together of a general shape that will be refined later, when the clay is more amenable to detail work.

TEMPLATE: A template, usually some kind of paper shape that begins the building process, helps build a form or provide a footprint for building objects. It can be used multiple times to create the same object. A template often starts as a general idea and is then modified and refined as the object develops. In the prototype stage, it is often made with craft paper and then once refined and modified, transferred to a more resilient material, such as a heavyweight watercolor paper.

FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS

These are some of the skills you will run across in the project sections of the book. Refer back to these pages if you need a refresher.

Score the coil. Using a paintbrush, wet the scored coil sparingly. (It shouldn’t be dripping wet.) With your left hand, use your pointer and middle fingers and thumb to begin to attach the coil to the scored footprint. Work your way all around the footprint and pinch off the excess coil when you meet the beginning of your attachment. Avoid starting at a corner because they are harder to compress and that can lead to cracking. Starting someplace mid-wall is a good practice. [C]

Using a right-angled rib, clean up and firm up your attachment on the inside and outside of the form. Pay special attention to the connecting seams. Be sure to use your footprint edge as a guide to maintain the shape. [D] The thickness of your wall should be about ¼" (.63 cm).

The goal of this ribbing action is to make sure your attachment is solid, to get the thickness of the wall consistent, and to get your form on point. Do not move on until all three of these goals are accomplished for every coil attachment. This usually take me about three passes inside and out.

Make another coil, following the same method, and aim for the same size as your first coil. Attach the new coil to the existing wall. No scoring is necessary if the clay is the same consistency/temperature. Using the pointer and middle fingers of your left hand on the outside of the form and your thumb on the inside, attach (squish) the coil to the wall; you want about ½" (1.3 cm) of overlap. [E]

Allow the coil to grow and twist as you continue attaching it; this is completely normal. Make sure you move in half measures; your thumbprints should overlap and leave a flatter surface. [F]

Avoid laying the coil on top of the wall and then squishing down. This distorts the wall, and the low surface area attachment can lead to cracking. It also adds way too much clay to the form, prolonging ribbing, increasing the need for darting (see here), and creating distortion in the form.

Overlapping increases the surface area of the attachment, which means it is stronger and less likely to crack.

Rib the form. Use a small metal rib to clean up the inside and outside of your form. Make small ribbing movements in the direction you want your form to grow, working your way around the form inside and out until you are ready for your next coil. The goal is to remove any evidence of the connection seams. [G] Continue to add coils in this method until the lowest point of your wall (it will be uneven) measures 4" (10 cm) from the working surface. [H]

TIPWhile attaching coils and ribbing, you might run into a few problems. See the Skills section on this page to troubleshoot.

My best recommendation is dry-cleaning plastic. It’s soft, not breathable, clear, and it comes in large sheets and is reusable forever (maybe not forever . . . but close!). Hit up a dry cleaner or friends who have clothing dry-cleaned— a few sheets last a long time.

WRAPPED IN PLASTIC: The goal in wrapping your work completely is to allow the work to set a smidge but also remain workable so that you can return and keep working. An example is a large vessel that needs to be made in sections, or a piece with several parts that will need to be scored together at the right stage. Wrapping it in plastic allows you to keep the clay workable, while allowing it to set up at the same time.

DOUBLE-WRAPPED IN PLASTIC: Double-wrap your work when you know you need to come back to your project and don’t want any chance of it drying out. Using this method hopefully keeps the project the exact same temperature (dryness/wetness) as when you wrapped it. When double-wrapping work, it’s a good idea to place it on a bat or ware board, as you can wrap the board and object together with plastic without damaging the object. My bats are plastic or Masonite, and my ware boards are plywood. AVOID wrapping work on a plaster bat; it will suck moisture out of the work way too fast. Once the work is wrapped up tight once, mist it with water just enough to see some condensation on the plastic. Now wrap it again in plastic, trapping the moisture in there. This is really handy if your time in the studio is intermittent, and you need to make sure your work remains workable after several days away,

SHEET DRAPE: Not much work in this book will benefit from sheet draping. This method is often used for larger pieces that need to slow dry and remain covered and protected from directional air, but still have air flow. Sheet draping is one of the better ways to slow dry work in more humid climates.

NOTEIf you would like to see how I make a damp box, check out my YouTube Channel: Sunshine Cobb Ceramics. I have a quick tutorial posted there.

DRY RELEASABLE SURFACE: I use large squares of drywall board on my workbench or table. Make sure the edges of the drywall board are covered with duct tape; if the plaster gets into your clay, it will pop out of the clay during the firing process and leave holes or cracks in your piece. (My tabletop is MDF wood and is a good releasable surface, but it will warp and break down if water is left on it for prolonged periods.)

ROLLING PIN: I prefer a pastry-style rolling pin (no handles)—it’s like a very large dowel.

PAINT STIR STICKS: You’ll need a few paint stir sticks or a couple of yardsticks cut in half—something thin and flat that is stackable, so you can adjust the height of your slabs. You need an equal amount for two sides of your slab. I make do with two large and two small paint stir sticks.

CLAY: Clay fresh from a bag is easiest to learn with!

Cut off a section of clay, about 1" (2.5 cm) thick. Place the clay in the center of your working board and, using the rolling pin, gently roll the clay, working from one end to the other. (If you cut out a large, thick piece, you may need to gently pound out the clay, using the rolling pin like a hammer on the clay in overlapping motion, just until the clay is thin enough to start rolling.) You will be making several passes, so don’t push down super hard. Just stretch a little at a time. [A]

After each pass with the rolling pin, lift the clay and give it a quarter turn. This does two important things. First, it separates the clay from the working surface, which makes it easier to stretch and roll with the next pass. Second, it ensures the clay shrinks in every direction evenly. It may sound strange, but clay has a memory—if it was a slab, it remembers it wants to be flat; if it was a pinch pot, it remembers how and in which directions the fingers pinched the clay. So, if a slab gets stretched in only one direction, it often leads to excessive shrinking in that direction. If you have assembled an object with multiple slab cutouts, that could lead to warping and cracks. [B]

After a few passes, lay your paint sticks next to the right and left sides of the clay at the desired thickness of clay; the rolling pin should reach both sides easily. Continue rolling, lifting the clay off the surface and giving it a quarter turn with each pass. The sticks will be your guide to know when the slab is even and has reached your desired thickness. [C]

Time to compress. Spritz the slab with a little water and, using a stiff rib, make overlapping passes across the slab in three different directions: horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. Gently lift the slab on one end and flip it over and repeat on the other side. This ensures your slab is well-worked, compressed, and will remember it is a slab. [D]

Your slab is ready. Here are additional tips:

• If your slab is large and difficult to move, use thin plastic to coat the slab and then flip it, or flip it between two boards.
• Remember to keep your slab flat as much as possible; it will remember if you twist and contort it when you are moving it, which will cause problems down the road.
• If you cut out templates, be mindful that once you pull the piece from the board, you may need to re-cut the shape, as it may have stretched a bit. This is totally normal.

SURFACE DEVELOPMENT

Unloading a glaze firing can be like opening presents on your birthday with so many unexpected surprises. Sometimes it’s the worst possible outcome. I have unloaded whole kiln loads directly into the dumpster after some glaze and firing fails! Although I considered including a few glaze recipes and a firing chart in this book, ultimately my feeling is that the beginning of a journey in clay is something one book isn’t supposed to do start to finish. Diving into glazing is overwhelming, even to the seasoned professional. Glazing is an art unto itself, and I am still learning.

I have been using the same commercial glazes in my personal work for the past ten years, and recently a couple of my glazes stopped working predictably. Once you think you have things figured out, your interest takes you in a new direction, or maybe materials change and what worked no longer works the way it did. This change has nudged (actually shoved) me to start testing and developing new glazes for my work. Color and surface are very important and create a lot of feels in my body. Glazing and surface development are a very slow and methodical part of the clay journey involving so much testing and so much failure. They are ultimately rewarding, but hard to do when you are in love with the making process.

In this section, I want to share a few ideas about where glazing may take you, as well as a few pieces of advice I wish I knew when I was starting out. I’ll also try to point you in the direction of some additional resources available to you.

NOTEFor the finished work you see in this book, I used either commercial glazes, underglazes, or no glaze at all. All the work was fired either to cone 3 or cone 5. Specific glaze information can be found in each project, so you can get an idea of how the finished object was achieved.

This process may seem tedious, and you may decide to ignore my advice . . . but I warn you, these words may come back to haunt you if you ignore them. We all know what’s it like to think we will remember some important detail, but then we forget. This isn’t just a new-potter issue. At some point while writing this book, I grabbed a bucket of what I thought was a liner glaze and lined a whole kiln load of my pots. It turned out to be a bucket of slip a friend had given me to try. If I had double-checked the bucket label and taken notes about how I was applying it, I probably would have caught the mistake quickly. After throwing all my ruined pots in the trash, I reminded myself to take notes— and also to label all my buckets clearly. Lesson learned, again! I occasionally forget to practice what I preach, and the clay process is a cruel mistress. The reminders are harsh. Also, there is nothing so frustrating as getting an amazing object out of the kiln with no idea how to duplicate the results. Take notes—it will prove handy, I promise.

After making test tiles, it’s a good idea to make a larger object, such as a slab cup or something simple and quick. This helps you understand how the glaze looks on a more 3D object. It is really helpful to know how the glaze and clay interact in a more representational way than on a test tile—it’s always surprising how different a glaze can look on an object compared to a small tile.

Here’s a quick note on asking folks about their glazes and/or techniques: Some people are happy to share what they have learned to some degree. The clay community prides itself on sharing knowledge. However, glazing takes a lot of practice and development. Hours and hours of trial and error to get successful results. People have a right to keep some information to themselves. Especially if they have developed their own glazes or techniques that they rely on to sell their wares. Don’t take it personally if someone doesn’t want to share their hard-won information. There are many resources for you to glean and develop your own skills and techniques. Check out Publications and Artists Resources (here). In this book for a few places to start. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, but don’t expect everyone to be able to help you. You need to do enough of the work and research to be able ask good questions!

What took you weeks, or possibly months, to accumulate shouldn’t be glazed in a few hours. The results may disappoint you if you treat glazing as an afterthought. I know you want more for your finished pieces than just glazing them in a rush or in a thoughtless fashion. You need to commit the time to think about what you want for your objects. Research ideas and glaze possibilities and collect images of what interests you. Pick up some glaze books or look at some ceramics magazines (see Publications and Artist Resources on this page). Even Pinterest or a Google image search is a good place to look for possible glaze ideas.

Take images of your work and do some coloring on them. Go old-school with a printout and some crayons or, if you’re hip to the technology, make some digital magic. Know what you have access to or what is within your scope of ability to test your ideas. Make some test tiles or test objects to go through the process. Save your favorite pieces until your research and testing matches your vision for your work. I sometimes think we procrastinate thinking about glazing because we are afraid to be disappointed by the results. We live in the joy of making and we delay the inevitability of the finished object and a possible negative outcome. I guarantee if you don’t devote some energy to glazing, it will be a negative experience. Approach the process with baby steps; the time commitment may surprise you. In the end, you will learn about the glazing process and, more important, what interests you for your own work. You will experience more positive than negative outcomes and hopefully a vison and direction for your own work.

One of my favorite glaze books is Ceramic Glazes: The Complete Handbook by Brian Taylor and Kate Doody. What I think is great about this book, besides being organized by color (which is awesome), is that they ask the contributing ceramic artists to contribute glaze recipes and ask them why they use the colors they do for their work. While we are often seeking a specific color, there can be a lot of thought behind why we are drawn to certain colors or surfaces. The glaze journey, while tactile and visual, can be emotionally driven. I often respond to glaze tests with, “Mmm, this doesn’t feel right,” and then a huge “Yes!” when it connects with me in the right way. I want my surfaces to connect to people, and because I don’t work narratively (with imagery), I focus on color and surface to draw people in. I have found that is more of an unconscious emotional connection.

Look for and collect images of non-ceramic surfaces you love and that inspire you on your quest for the perfect surface treatment. This can lead you down a path that digs a bit deeper than the “I like blue” conversation. When you are ready, you can take that leap into glaze chemistry and color theory. Check Publications and Artist Resources in this book (here). There are several books listed and an online class taught by Rose and Matt Katz that I recommend as a great next step if you hunger for more glaze knowledge. Happy test tiling!

GALLERY