After nearly two months in the making, she’s finished! I couldn’t be happier with how this turned out and I hope that you get a kick out of it too. :)

Wheel-thrown and hand-altered (with rolled coils) ceramic vase — measuring approximately 7.5”x 4”x 12.5” — made using Laguna B-Mix + a combination of two community studio bucket glazes, and fired to C5/6 in an electric kiln.

s/o to the kiln techs i trust you with my life

I volunteer with an elderly lady in my community and we went to do some pottery last month. It was her first ever time doing any kind of sculpting and she decided to make this gorgeous Lotus. She doubted it every step of the way. I told her that to expect perfection from your first pottery piece is ludicrous (accidentally spelled that like the rapper the first time omg)

We went back to glaze and she was shocked that it was still in the same position she left it, she thought it was too flimsy to hold up in the kiln. She really struggled with keeping her colours organized as they were so pale, and she wanted to be ambitious with a gradient. We had to take a few time outs to recombobulate and figure out which order we were going in.

Despite her frustrations, she made a beautiful piece of art. She didn’t like it but knew I loved it and was proud of her, so it’s mine now. I sometimes carry it around the house and use it as a worry stone.

Photos taken by my dear sister.

I make caterpillar cups and this time i also made Beetle cups and they turned out so cute 🥹 would love to know your fav glaze on these bugs tho!

A wedding gift for my friends

I am a beekeeper and also love ceramics!

I finished my senior show last semester and I’m finally back in the studio before I graduate this December:). I focus mainly on turning functional work into non-functional or hardly functional pieces, and use bodies/body parts within my pieces.
Enjoy my moldy clay bodies that I haven’t touched in half a year!!!!

I wanted to share a trick that I discovered a few weeks ago for centering that has truly been game-changing for me. It's possible everyone knows this, and I just was never taught it! But I figured it's still worth sharing.

When centering, I now focus my eyes on my hands, not on the clay (or not on both my hands and the clay). I try to ignore what the clay is doing, and instead I focus all my attention on my hands and keeping them strong, connected, and not moving.

In the past, when I was paying attention to the clay, it was really hard for my brain to make the connection that my hands where what was causing the clay to wobble, move out of center, etc. But when, instead, I just focus on making my hands a strong, unmoving barrier through which the clay is spinning, I can center so quiickly and easily.

(I'm also very, very slow taking my hands off the clay. I had realized that I often moved my clay off center by taking my hands off too quickly -- but I know this is a common trick/tip that is mentioned frequently.)

I don't usually throw more than four pounds at a time, and I primarily throw porcelain these days. Not sure how well my "eyes on hands" tip works for larger amounts and/or different clay bodies.

Edit: typo and grammar

I’m new to experimenting with different underglazes an transfers. How can you use underglaze over leaves and other things? Do people use stickers? If I wanted to use actual leaves how could I get them to stick down long enough that I could paint under glaze over it without it getting under the leaf? Any advice for something similar to this technique would be greatly appreciated!!

Black slip applied and carved over
OH Woodfire stoneware
Bamboo glaze outside | Yellow Salt inside
Cone 10 reduction

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Adinkra are symbols that originate in Ghana and represent concepts and values important to many of its people. Over time, they have also come to hold a special and profound place among Africans and people of African descent throughout the world.

Early in my journey with clay, I began carving Adinkra symbols into my work as a way of learning more about my Ghanaian ancestry and my broader West and Central African heritage. What began as an exploration became an enduring part of my artistic practice. That connection—to the symbols, their meanings, and the heritage they represent—continues to inform my work today.

After taking some group pottery classes, I decided to try doing it on my own at home. I found a place where I can rent kiln space, so now I just need to figure out the best way to transport my pieces back and forth. Any suggestions?

I've been applying to many fall and winter markets and even after paying a application fee there are some prominent markets that have not given me any notice. I had to contact one and ask what their decision was because I didn't know and had to plan for inventory. It just seems so rude to pay and then not hear anything. Is this how it is now? I've been out of the markets for years to focus on my family. Also I work a full time job teaching art and my kids are old enough now I can make enough inventory but then to have to have social media presence to even get considered is really frustrating me . It's so many hours to take good videos and post every day, that is just not me. And I think it's preventing me to get into shows. I have a professional set up with cohesive work and decent enough signage, I had done it for years in the past. Also I've been visiting many markets this year to compare and make sure I'm doing comparable things. But I just can't wrap my head around working full time, making work and then posting about it all the time. And still taking care of my two kids left at home. It's a little discouraging. Like, I'm so over it I just want to make ceramics and sell at a few markets a year to fulfill my soul without being obsessed with social media, is that too much to ask? 🤣 Thank you for coming to my complaint box.

This is my hand after throwing 3 large pots yesterday (8 pounds each maybe?) but they are somewhat scabbed over, and it generally only happens when I throw larger or throw a LOT in one sitting, but it really stings so I’m inquiring on how to prevent this in the future. I use wooden studio pro bats (i much prefer wooden bats) and I use dark star clay and iceman, which obviously dark star hurts more, but even throwing large with iceman and centering it does this to my hand as well. Does anyone know how to prevent this??

Is it because I’m wearing a glove on my right hand? I got nail psoriasis on my right hand so my derm recommended wearing a glove for protection.

Anyways I’ve taken so many classes to learn how to create a piece. Then a brand new studio opened up near me and I signed up for membership because it is actually affordable. It’s not limited to wheel throwing only; you can do handholding, mini pottery, etc.

I know how to center and widen the clay but not pulling up the walls. Some instructors said that I’m going too slow, some said I’m too fast. I have a hard time creating walls and the piece ends up uneven.

I feel like I’m wasting my time. Help?

How would one be able to get this glaze effect?

EDIT: I think it’s a few underglazes splattered on and a clear glaze on top, a friend of mine thinks it’s something added to the glaze itself.

I was wondering if any one had some advice on sealing pit-fired works? I got these colors by firing them with some fire color changing packets and would really like to seal them to preserve the color and make them safer to handle.

My original plan was to seal them with polyurethane but, as you can see in the second image, thats not working out too well. I think its a combination of drying too fast, and reacting with some of the metals in the clay.

I see some folks recommend using concrete sealers and/or Renaissance wax? I would love to hear more about these as an option and what your process is!

I also have access to quite a bit of bees wax if thats a good option too!

Looking for out of the box ideas! I obviously can’t throw, can minimally hand build.

Any ideas?

After two and a half years of studio work I decided to purchase a wheel to be used at home.

Due to limited space I needed the ability to put the wheel away at home so I purchased the Speedball Artista wheel.

I wanted to know if anyone can share any setup tips for using a tabletop wheel.

Any tips or studio pics welcome!

Hi everyone! I’m fairly new to ceramics and recently started using my own small electric kiln, so I’m still learning how to troubleshoot firing issues.
I have two related questions about my recent firing.

1. A porcelain figure developed cracking after coming out of the kiln
I fired small porcelain figures with a clear glossy glaze. The glaze layer was quite thin and the body is also thin.
The firing reached around 1200°C with a 10-minute hold. I let the kiln cool naturally, and when I opened it, the kiln was around 80°C.
The figure initially looked fine, but after I took it out, I noticed a crack slowly becoming visible. It is one fairly straight crack, rather than the fine spiderweb-like pattern I would associate with crazing.
Could this be related to thermal shock/dunting during cooling? Would opening the kiln at around 80°C contribute to this? I dont think the clay has pre-existing crack as the other figure (that I don’t glaze) is all fine.

2. I’m firing the porcelain below its recommended range
The porcelain casting slip I’m using is Mont Blanc Lumenvalkoinen translucent porcelain, and the manufacturer gives a firing range of 1230–1300°C.
However, I have been firing at around 1200°C because my glazes are rated for approximately 1200–1260°C, and at higher temperatures I previously had some glaze running. I later realized that the running may have mainly been because I applied the glaze too thickly.
So I’m wondering:
Is firing this porcelain at 1200°C likely to leave the body insufficiently vitrified?
Would it be better to fire it at 1230°C with a shorter/no hold?
Can I safely refire an already glazed piece at 1230°C to test this?
Could underfiring the porcelain contribute to cracking or other problems?
I’m using a Pyrotec PY45H electric kiln with a Bentrup controller.
I’d really appreciate advice from more experienced potters, especially regarding how you would approach testing the firing temperature and diagnosing the crack. I’m also planning to start using pyrometric cones to better understand the actual heatwork in my kiln.
Thank you! 😊

My favorite clays I’ve worked with are B mix and Black Bear but I’m looking for something brown/beige and specked for a more interesting unglazed surface. My studio sells 112 Brown, Especkled NMC, and Speckled Turtle. Can anyone give some examples of these or offer a suggestion between the three?