Pottery Blog - Making Handmade Stoneware

I've been asked about providing pottery for people to paint a couple of times so thought I'd write about it. I'm not that keen to do this, mainly because I'm not sure bisque fired pots would make it through the post safely. My method of making pottery is to throw the item on the wheel, then bisque fire it. After the bisque fire it is ready to glaze. At this stage it is very pourous and fragile. Not at all suitable for holding liquids or to be used for anything functional. I'm not sure what people mean by 'painting' ceramics....

I’ve been listening to some podcasts about writing recently. I’ve never been a good writer. I remember my comments at school from teachers were always about how I needed to stop being so succinct. Well they were probably right, I think I have a scientific brain rather than an arty one. Maybe that means I shouldn’t be any good at pottery. I’m just trying to think out loud here, it’s been a long day. All day I’ve been wanting to get out in the studio and make some pots. For those who don’t know I’m a chef by trade, pottery...

Pottery for beginners can be intimidating, there are so many technical terms and strange looking tools. I was introduced to the craft through my wife, so I got a bit of a head start. Hopefully this page will help someone who is getting started with pottery. Before going out and buying anything, see if there are any evening classes or courses in your area. If you get the bug for mud, then you can start thinking about getting your own setup. For those of you in the Sheffield area, here are a few links to places running courses or evening...

It can be very satisfying eating from wheel thrown pottery plates. I thought I’d write about how use a pottery wheel for beginners who are interested in making plates. Many moons ago I wrote an article about why potters don’t like making plates. Whenever I look at the catalogues of other potters they rarely have plates in their range – such a shame! I have avoided making plates for many of the reasons in the article. In the end I just couldn’t resist making a set for us to eat our dinners from. It turns out I actually quite like...

What do kiln vents do? Kiln vents come in various forms, they aim to remove air from the kiln atmosphere. Some types of ventilation are attached over the top of the kiln, others suck air out of the bottom. Electric kilns are more likely to need ventilation as the radiant heat doesn’t move much air naturally. Do you need kiln ventilation? There are two main reasons for using a ventilation system. Remove unwanted gases from the studio space. During a firing there are gases released that can be harmful to breathe. By using a vent many of these can be...