You don't need a kiln and an expensive at-home pottery rig to start crafting amazing pots and jars! In Making Pottery Without a Kiln: Happy Little Projects to Make for Your Home, author Daniela Schmidt-Kohl will teach you how. You'll discover a start-to-finish approach for beautifully creative pottery, beginning with fun small projects and finishing with floral reliefs. Start fashioning decorative touches and you'll feel like you've been happily pottering for decades! Making Pottery Without a Kiln is great for beginners who want to learn, as well as advanced potters who want to get back to their roots. You'll find ideas for simple key racks and gift tags, for example. Or level up with autumnal motifs and ornaments! Invite people to join you with simple projects like little lucky charms or liven up your home with boho-chic wall mandalas. If you love working with your hands, there's something for you inside Making Pottery Without a Kiln. And you may just find out why forming something with your own hands is a happiness maker, creating great vibes that last just as long as your new creations.

Beginning with the basics, this book will teach you how to create a collection of 20 stylish homewares from construction to completion with a professional finish including decoration, glazing and firing techniques. From dinner plates, pasta bowls, coffee mugs to decorative vases, a rippled lampshade and more, each project is minimal in design but with thoughtful details, making it the ideal for first time crafters.

Complete with stunning lifestyle photography and clear step-by-step instructions to inspire your handmade journey, Thrown is the ultimate modern guide to this addictive, tactile craft.

In A Potter's Workbook, renowned studio potter and teacher Clary Illian presents a textbook for the hand and the mind. Her aim is to provide a way to see, to make, and to think about the forms of wheel-thrown vessels; her information and inspiration explain both the mechanics of throwing and finishing pots made simply on the wheel and the principles of truth and beauty arising from that traditional method.

Each chapter begins with a series of exercises that introduce the principles of good form and good forming for pitchers, bowls, cylinders, lids, handles, and every other conceivable functional shape. Focusing on utilitarian pottery created on the wheel, Illian explores sound, lively, and economically produced pottery forms that combine an invitation to mindful appreciation with ease of use. Charles Metzger's striking photographs, taken under ideal studio conditions, perfectly complement her vigorous text.

The ultimate illustrated guide for sourcing, processing and using wild clay.

Potters around the world are taking to the local landscape to dig their own wild clay, discover its unique properties, and apply it to their craft. This guide is the ideal starting point for anyone - from novices, improvers and experts to educators and students - who wants to forge a closer bond between their art and their surroundings.

Testing and trial and error are key to finding a material's best use, so the authors' tips, drawn from long experience in the US and Japan (but which can be applied to clays anywhere) provide an enviable head-start on this rewarding journey. A clay might be best suited to sculpture and tile bodies, throwing clay bodies, handbuilding and slab bodies, or simply be applied as a glaze or slip. The specific properties of found materials can create a diverse range of effects and surfaces, or, even when not fired, can be adapted for use as colorful pastels or pigments.

Beautiful illustrations and helpful technical descriptions explain the formation of various clays; how to locate, collect and assess them; how to test their properties of shrinkage, water absorption, texture and plasticity; the best ways to test-fire them; and how to adapt a clay's characteristics by blending appropriate materials. From prospecting in the field to holding your finished product, there is helpful advice through every stage, and a gallery of work by international potters who have embraced the clays found around them.

Explore the creative possibilities of this incredibly versatile range of glazes with this comprehensive guide for ceramic artists of all levels.

Unlock the world of low-fire glazes with The Complete Guide to Low-Fire Glazes for Potters and Sculptors. Potter, podcaster, and author of Mastering the Potter's Wheel, Ben Carter, challenges the belief that serious artists work exclusively with high-temperature materials, sharing years of research on crafting exquisite low-fire pots and glazes. Delve into the benefits of firing at lower temperatures, explore the visual nuances of low-fire glazes, and witness renowned artists thriving in this temperature range.

Illustrated with stunning photography of work by Carter and other artists, this visually captivating resource covers:

• Insights into the benefits and visual attributes of low-fire glazes
• Guidance on setting up a glaze lab
• An explanation of how glaze is formulated
• Troubleshooting tips for common glaze faults
• Designing and making test tiles
• Techniques for layering, using glaze as form, integrating decals, atmospheric firing, and more
• Tried-and-true glaze recipes--from gloss to satin, matte, and tin--for varied finishes and color creation

Whether you are new to the world of ceramic glazes or looking to expand your knowledge of low-fire glazes, The Complete Guide to Low-Fire Glazes is your path through a world of artistic possibilities.

The Mastering Ceramics series is for artists who never stop learning. With compelling projects, expert insight, step-by-step photos, and galleries of work from today's top artists, these books are the perfect studio companions.

Also available from the series: Amazing Glaze, Amazing Glaze Recipes and Combinations, Mastering Sculpture: The Figure in Clay, Mastering Kilns and Firing, Mastering Hand Building, and Mastering the Potter's Wheel.

Old, broken objects can become more beautiful than ever!

The thought of throwing away a cherished dish or mug can be heartbreaking. If you've ever wanted to repair a treasured piece rather than tossing it in the trash--but didn't know how--the traditional Japanese art of Kintsugi (gold repair) offers the perfect solution!

A Beginner's Guide to Kintsugi teaches you the traditional Japanese techniques of pottery and glass repair based on the ancient Wabi Sabi idea that imperfections are beautiful, and visible repairs are part of the life story of an object.

Author Michihiro Hori provides simple, safe, and inexpensive methods that you can do at home using tools and materials that are readily available online. Hori guides you through the entire process--from assembling and mixing the materials to reconstructing replacements for hopelessly shattered shards.

With this book, you'll learn how to:

• Reinforce cracks, rebuild shattered areas, and apply the time-honored staple technique
• Fix broken handles so they are fully functional again
• Safely work with lacquer and metallic powders to achieve beautiful, visible repairs
• Work with a variety of repair materials from gold leaf to washi paper
• Repair pottery and glass using traditional techniques for stunning results

The Great Pottery Throw Down book is a practical and beautiful guide to creating in clay at home. Accompanying budding potters on their creative journey, this book teaches the basics of both handbuilding and throwing techniques before taking you through 20 projects inspired by the show's challenges. The projects are aimed to build on your skills as you work through them starting with an egg cup or mug and working up to a jug or teapot.

Covering a range of topics from setting up your space and choosing the right clay to the basics of using a wheel and the three core hand-building techniques (slab building, coiling and pinching) - this is an essential guide to pottery. The projects include spoon rest, vase, dinner plate, nesting bowls, plant pot, teacup, animal figurine, salad bowl, and more. Once you have mastered the basics, finesse your creations with expert tips on decorating, glazing, and firing your projects.

Discover the joy of the iconic Great Pottery Throw Down in your own home and open yourself up to a world of ceramic possibility.

A creative guide to making abstract mosaic designs inspired by nature, using the beauty and texture of slate and stone.

The shapes, patterns and structures found in the natural world can provide a source of wonder and inspiration for mosaic artists. Mosaics do not have to be made from tiles and then grouted, but instead they can be full of texture, incorporating a whole array of materials which hold connections to nature and to particular places. The subtle beauty of stone surfaces gives the work an organic feel, creating beautiful abstract designs.

Not only are these materials attractive but preparing them is an enjoyable task in itself. In this book, experienced artist Rachel Davies shares the methods she uses in her mosaic practice. Starting with tools, materials and cutting techniques, discover adhesive and substrate options, and get to know the various materials and how to use them creatively.

Supported by step-by-step photos, follow a series of exercises and suggestions to explore your interests and develop your own designs. With a focus on three of her own mosaics, inspired by seaweed, lichen and bark, Rachel walks you through her process to show how a piece of art develops from start to finish.

Beautifully illustrated with photographs of Rachel's own work as well as spotlights on seven other contemporary artists, find inspiration and get started on your own mosaic journey.

Frederick L. Olsen's practical guide to the construction, maintenance, and repair of kilns is now bigger and more comprehensive than ever. Olsen's bible for kiln builders now includes chapters on multidirectional and specialty kilns, fired in place kilns for large scale ceramic sculptures, and offers a few suggestions on what kilns may look like in the future.

​ The Kiln Book covers the principles of efficient design, building methods, refractory materials, bricklaying procedures and instructions, fuels and firing systems, arches, flues, electric elements, and general safety. Olsen includes plans for firebox systems; coal, oil-drip, forced-oil burners; butane, propane, and natural gas burners; and installation of pressure regulators and safety shut-off controls. The complete guide on how to design and build any size, shape kiln for the potter.

About the Author

Frederick L. Olsen has been a ceramic artist for over sixty years and is very well known as a kiln builder. He often demonstrates kiln building at conferences and workshops around the world and is generally regarded as the authority on kilns. As a young ceramist, he had the good fortune to study under National Treasure ceramic artist Tomimoto Kenkichi and Kondo Yuzo in Japan for two and a half years. Since that time, he has traveled the world doing his ceramics and studying and building kilns of all shapes and sizes. He is well known for his Fastfire wood kiln designs. He has designed and patented the Olsen kiln kits, which have been sold worldwide. His first book, The Kiln Book, was published in 1973, and it has been continually revised and expanded ever since

In Mastering Hand Building, discover a robust array of options for constructing both simple and complex clay forms without a potter's wheel. Richly illustrated with color photography, this comprehensive volume includes:

• Essential techniques in hand building, covering pinch pots, coil building, and slab building
• Advanced techniques and tips for designing templates and replicating pieces, lidded vessels, using molds, a variety of decorative techniques, and other avenues of exploration
• An overview of kilns and firing schedules, plus slip and glaze recipes
• Slab-building and molding templates for creating plates, bowls, cups, and boxes
• Artist features and inspirational galleries, including work from today's top working artists, such as Bryan Hopkins, Lindsay Oesterritter, Liz Zlot Summerfield, Bandana Pottery, Shoko Teruyama, Courtney Martin, Sam Chung, Deborah Schwartzkopf, and many more

The Mastering Ceramics series is for artists who never stop learning. With compelling projects, expert insight, step-by-step photos, and galleries of work from today's top artists, these books are the perfect studio companions. Also available from the series: Mastering the Potter's Wheel, Mastering Kilns and Firing, and Amazing Glaze.

A flowing collection of poetry that is also a guide for life.

Covering the oldest and most traditional ways to make pots, Handbuilt is a beginner's guide to hand building with clay - no pottery wheel required. This book will teach you the building blocks to working with clay, and how to apply a professional finish to your pots including decoration, glazing, and firing techniques. Learn how to create a collection of 23 stylish homeware designs using the three core techniques: coiling, pinching and slab building.

Beginning with the basics to get you started, discover how to wedge clay, add texture, and work with molds, then put your new skills to the test through the projects that include coffee cups, a tea pot, vase, dinner plates, candle holders, and more.

Packed with stunning lifestyle photography to help inspire your own handmade journey alongside clear step-by-steps and Lilly's expert tips will lead you through the process, Handbuilt is the ultimate modern guide this popular, tactile and ancient craft.

Join author and Odyssey Clayworks founder Gabriel Kline on a journey that makes glazing pottery less intimidating and more fun.

Whether you look forward to glazing your work or are guilty of saying I hate glazing! Amazing Glaze is for you. Start in the glaze kitchen where you'll set yourself up for success, then move on to learning the tools and techniques for getting your glaze right every time. Once you know the basics, discover how to take your glazing to the next level with specialized application and finishing techniques. Along the way, Gabriel shares dozens of tried-and-true glaze recipes and combinations. Stunningly illustrated with color photography, this comprehensive glaze guide includes:

• An introduction to glazing, covering studio safety, tools and materials, the chemistry of glazes, preparing glazes, testing glazes, and various ways to apply glazes
• Advanced techniques and special topics, including layering with slip and underglaze, working with resists, creating crystalline effects, achieving an elusive red, applying decals, and combining techniques
• Over 60 glaze recipes (23 high fire, 22 mid-range, 11 low fire, and 7 raku)--refined over dozens of workshops, hundreds of firings, and innumerable tests--from reliable classics to obscure gems, plus recipes for slips, underglazes, washes, terra sigillatas, and more, together forming thousands of potential color and texture combinations
• Artist features and inspirational galleries with photos of work from today's top artists, including Cayce Kolstad, Anja Bartels, Nick Moen, Genevieve Van Zandt, Julia Weber, Molly Morning-glory, Naim Cash, Josh Copus, Linda McFarling, and Tisha Cook

The Mastering Ceramics series is for artists who never stop learning. With compelling projects, expert insight, step-by-step photos, and galleries of work from today's top artists, these books are the perfect studio companions. Also available from the series: Mastering Hand Building, Mastering Kilns and Firing, and Mastering the Potter's Wheel.

Whether you're searching for excitement at cone 6 or looking for the perfect high-fire shino recipe, you've come to the right place. Join Gabriel Kline, author of Amazing Glaze and founder of Odyssey Clayworks, for page after color-filled page of glazes. Start by learning the keys to success when applying glazes, then choose the temperature range you want to explore first. Gabriel's collection of well-tested recipes draw on his decades of experience as an instructor and leader of a communal arts studio--including current and past student favorites as well as a few timeless gems.

Of course he doesn't stop there In addition to plentiful tiles showing off two-glaze combinations, Gabriel shares multi-glaze combinations developed through years of trial and error. From waterfall blues to eye-popping bursts of red, there's a rainbow of options. Just as in Amazing Glaze, the recipes have all been technically edited and each one has a photo. By controlling specific gravity and application, the goal is always getting the perfect coat of glaze recipe after recipe.

Special topics like majolica and raku firing provide welcome detours, and a variety of artist features serve as launching points for new explorations. Stunning galleries from today's top artists provide even more glazing ideas.

Covering every technique from throwing pottery to firing, glazing to sgraffito, this pottery book is perfect for both hand-building beginners and potting pros.

Step-by-step photographs - some from the potter's perspective - show you exactly where to place your hands when throwing so you can master every technique you need to know. Plus, expert tips help you rescue your pots when things go wrong.

The next in the popular Artist's Techniques series, Complete Pottery is the ideal companion for pottery classes of any level, or a go-to guide and inspiration for the more experienced potter looking to expand their repertoire and perfect new skills.

With contemporary design and ideas, Complete Pottery Techniques enables the modern maker to unleash their creativity.

Everything You Need to Get Started with Pottery

If you ever daydream about delving into pottery but aren't sure where to begin, this is your book. Professional potter Kara Leigh Ford will be your personal pottery guide, helping you to overcome any doubts about your abilities. All you need are curiosity and a few simple tools to mold stunning stoneware with confidence. Inspiring projects and primers on equipment, technique, clay types and setting up a workspace make pottery approachable for complete newcomers, as well as budding potters who want to hone their skills. Plus, gorgeous photos from Kara's studio offer visual guidance every step of the way.

Enter the wonderful world of ceramics with hand building, the meditative method behind your next mug, spoon set or soap dish. When you're ready for the wheel, easy-to-follow instructions cover the foundations of throwing bowls, plates, vases and other beginner-friendly kitchenware like a pro. Each stand-alone piece builds upon a skill introduced in the previous project: Craft all ten and you've learned pottery's fundamentals! Tutorials on glazing and decorative techniques will help you discover your own unique style and understand the basics of the firing process--whether in your own kiln or at a community studio--ensuring beautifully finished pieces.

Kara's can-do approach brings handmade ceramic creations fully within reach. Whether you want to make charming home décor or thoughtful gifts for loved ones, you'll find all you need to embark on your pottery journey.

Kintsugi is the mindful Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics and glassware by appreciating the cracks and chips as design elements--bringing new life to cherished items. Kintsugi: The Wabi Sabi Art of Japanese Ceramic Repair shares traditional methods you can practice in your own home. Step-by-step lessons in repairs suited to every level of experiences--filling cracks to completely rebuilding and finishing a broken piece--fill the pages of this in-depth yet unintimidating guide.

Ceramics and lacquer guru Kaori Mochinaga offers a complete course in using urushi lacquer and metallic powder in the traditional Japanese way. Your broken piece soon becomes whole again, and more meaningful than ever before.

From assessing the damages and selecting the repair methods, to applying the finishing touches, you'll learn all the essential kintsugi techniques, including:

• How to seal a fine crack or repair a chipped rim
• Techniques for rebuilding a shard, restoring a handle, even reconstructing a multi-shard piece
• And much more--and all of it with the use of non-toxic lacquers and powders

Join the home pottery revolution!

Whether you have access to a communal studio or not, hand building projects can travel just about anywhere. Take your clay outside or work at the kitchen table, with instruction from best-selling ceramics author Sunshine Cobb. In this book, you'll find all the necessary fundamentals, including a thorough discussion of clay as well as helpful tips for keeping your body and mind in top shape. Then pick the path that's right for you in the chapters that follow.

Develop new skills and unlock your own creativity as you explore:

• Sculptural projects like miniature animals and plants.
• Functional items like scoops, a citrus reamer, and a coffee pour-over vessel.
• Mixed media projects including a candlestick holder, mobile, and a soap dish.

For beginners and those returning to ceramics, the Essential Ceramics Skills series from Quarry Books offer the fundamentals along with fresh, contemporary, and simple projects that build skills progressively.