Process and Techniques

• FetishGhost shares a video of Jessica Fong cutting a foot ring by hand and decorating a platter.

• DirtKicker Pottery extrudes handles with a pugger.
• Lorri Buff has a video of throwing sets.

• Liz Crain repairs a broken handle.
• Mea Rhee shows how her graphic design experience helps her as a potter.
• Paul Jessop has work in progress… and more.
• Luke Langholz also has work in progress and bowls in progress and more.
• Hannah McAndrew is  slip trailing and working on jugs and more jugs.
• Lorri Watts makes a big bowl into something unique and shows the steps she used to make a flower brick.
• Gary Jackson stamps mugs and ovals and talks about his signature.
• Kyle Houser works on cups and wants feedback.
• Jemarick Art shows work on an orchid pot… and another.
• Cinderelish shares a short clip of trimming a large bowl.
• Liberty Stoneware has images and videos of working on not-milkpans and shows off the “evil” pugmill.

• Carole Epp shares a video about Max Cheprack’s extrusions.
• Raven Hill Pottery prepares for Valentine’s Day.
• Barnbarroch Pottery is working on boats, more boats… a little further along.
• Marian Williams shares notes on glazing and firing.
• Doug Fitch works on bowls and decorates jugs and makes bigger pots.
• Linda Starr shares a pit fire pictorial and shows how she makes a pedestal bowl and admits sometimes things don’t turn out how she planned.
• Michael Kline explains a slightly revised plan for his daily routine.
• Art by Fuzzy has some images of work in progress.
• Amy Manson shares a link to a collaborative carving experiment.
• Lucy Fagella shows how parts come together to make a teapot.
• Potter Jo tests plant imprints.
• Lisa talks about her colanders.
• Dawn Whitehand has a slideshow of her saggar bonfire firing.
• Michael Mahan works on race awards and has video of throwing a bowl.
• Ang Walford has new pots, stamps and handles.
• Bfree pottery works with decals.
• Keith begins the Clay 360 project (video).

• Video of Cynthia Bringle throwing a goblet.
• Mom Cave Pottery has an app for trying glaze ideas.

Tips and Technical

• John Britt shares recipes: Bringle Liner Glaze, Linda’s Yellow Slip, Juicy Turquoise A, and a link to wadding and kiln wash recipes.
• Also from the Clay Club, Erik shows off 940 glaze tests.
• Meagan Chaney shares her favorite 04 Crawl Glaze recipe.
• Lorri Buff talks chamois alternatives.
• Bill Amsterlaw talks about his woodstove raku.
• Lorri Watts tells what kind of drain is needed for a vessel sink and more.
• Amy gets some answers to questions about setting up her studio.
• Karatsu Pots builds a test kiln and tests it.
• Michael Mahan shows some glaze layering tests.
• Diving into the Clay talks Chrome and Manganese.
• Trace Broome researches clay slabs and discovers going against the grain could be a problem.
• Zizziba Studio starts good record keeping.

Finished Work

• Hollis Engley has work from the New Year’s Eve firing and some shino pots.
• Tammy Jo posts a video of the past year – 365 cups!
• Lorri Watts has new pots.
• Luke Langholz shows finished mugs and bowls.
• Raven Hill Pottery looks back at the top selling item of the year.
• Clay and Ginger shows video of a kiln opening.
• Round Rabbit has finished pendants.
• Peggy has a series of posts with finished pieces such as Up A Creek.
• Clementina Ceramics has plates with faces.
• Finished pots from Simple Circle Studios.
• Bella Joy Pottery shows a preview of the new focus.
• Aaron Sober has finished functional and decorative work.
• Russell Wrankle shows a few rectangle tiles.
• Linda Starr finished some once-fired shrines and some doors and pit fire pieces.
• Tammy Jo has a slideshow of finished cups.
• Art by Fuzzy has a variety of pots for the holiday season.
• Bfree Pottery has finished work.
• Gary Jackson shows off some glazed textures.
• Kelly Lynn Daniels has pieces from a recent firing.
• Patricia Griffin has pod mugs from the woodcut series.
• Cathie shares some dream keepers.

Thoughts

• John Bauman shares four reasons why custom orders are “bird repellent”.
• Ron Philbeck gives his opinion on two statements that he’s tired of hearing.

1.  When people are talking to me about drawing and they say, ”I can’t even draw a straight line.”2.  And the statement, ”It’s all been done before.”

• Aaron Sober shares some reasons for going to graduate school.
• Michael Kline talks about other tools and blogging.
• Carter Gillies is blogging about blogging.
• Scott Cooper gets into the meta-blogging as well.
• Lisa discusses the magic of clay.
• Rae Dunn on “beautiful ugly”:

one of clay’s biggest life lesson for me is to not have your heart set on something. when you think you want something a certain way, it could turn out in a completely different way and you just might love it evenmore.

• Dan Finnegan recalls memories of Ray and the motto “To Work is to Pray“.

The Rest

• The Modern Pottery Studio links to the oral history interview with Warren McKenzie.
• FetishGhost shares some advice from Austin Kleon.
• Ben Carter continues his series on how we learn. Also, part 3 and part 4.
• Lorri Buff encourages updates to your portfolio.
• Paul Jessop redecorates the showroom.
• Luke Langholz shares a funny videoabout a potter at an art fair.
• Judi Tavill (and some visitors) discuss facebook vs. blogs.
• Whitney Smith shares some marketing advice and asks how bad you want that nasty, dirty, pink and red money.
• Carole Epp shares a video about 3D ceramic printing (no special glasses required).
• Michael Kline says you don’t NEED a blog.
• Clay and Ginger shares a video: 29 ways to stay creative.
• Karen Mahoney has a (free!) craft fair checklist and a positive review of the mudsponge.
• Remembering Ray Finch and Emmanuel Cooper: Doug Fitch and part 2, Hollis Engley, Carole Epp, Marian Williams.
• Linda Starr looks to diversify.
• KaratsuPots fires the test kiln.
• Lucy Fagella wishes to be young again, or at least have the stamina of an 18 year old.
• Patricia Bridges shows that it’s not all about making pots.
• Neil Hazinski shares a pottery poem.

There you have it.  The best pottery blogging to bring in the new year.  A day later than usual… I guess I forget how long it takes to get all these links together.  But today is tomorrow. It happened.  To all the clay bloggers: thanks for blogging and keep up the good work!  And to all the readers: thanks for reading and feel free to leave some feedback!

10. From the Ground Up

From the Ground Up

Blog Platform – Blogger

Total 2011 posts – 88

This blog by Michael Mahan out of Seagrove, NC has been online since 2008. Michael produces a variety of work, from electric fired functional ware to more artistic wood or pit fired pieces. He has a lot of good posts showing the process and some of his finished work.

 9. Future Relics Gallery

Future Relics Gallery

Blog Platform – Blogger

Total 2011 posts – 177

Lori Buff lives in Atlanta and has written this blog since at least 2009.  She creates functional and sculptural work by wood or raku firing wheel thrown forms.  Her work appears on the blog but she also includes a variety of other posts including thoughts about the business side of pottery, personal experiences and other pottery or art related news.

8. Musing About Mud

Musing About Mud

Blog Platform – Blogger

Total 2011 posts – 606

Carole Epp lives in Saskatoon, Canada and has written this blog since 2007.  She produces functional and sculptural work but her blog is less about her work and more about current ceramic events, exhibits, workshops and showing off work by other ceramic artists and potters.  Definitely worth reading if you want to keep up on news of the ceramics and pottery world.

7. Karatsu Pots

Karatsu Pots

Blog Platform – WordPress

Total 2011 posts – Approximately 100

This blog has been written by Michael Martino since at least 2005.  He resides in Taku Japan and has been working with the traditional tools and techniques of Karatsu since 2003.  There are a good variety of posts on the blog including a lot of great information on the process, techniques, tools and work of this Karatsu potter.

6. Ron Philbeck

Ron Philbeck

Blog Platform – WordPress

Total 2011 posts – Approximately 175

Ron Philbeck lives in Shelby, NC and currently works with earthenware clay.  He has been writing this blog since 2005.  He displays a lot of finished work, some pieces he is currently working on, and explains his process, often in video format.

5. Fetish Ghost’s Secret Studio

Fetish Ghost's Secret Studio Diary

Blog Platform – Blogger

Total 2011 posts – 179

This secret studio diary has been written since 2008 by FetishGhost from Stockton, CA.  He offers images of finished work, tips and techniques and other interesting pottery related content.

4. Fire When Ready

Fire When Ready Pottery

Blog Platform – WordPress

Total 2011 posts – Close to 500

Gary Jackson of Chicago has been writing his blog since August 2008. He creates mostly wheel thrown ware and enhances his forms with intricate stamping and soda firing. He displays a lot of his finished and in-progress work but also infuses a lot of personal experiences including photos from his bike rides.

3. Fine Mess Pottery

Fine Mess Pottery

Blog Platform – Blogger

Total 2011 posts – 137

This blog, started in late 2007, is by Lori Watts from Augusta, Maine.  Lori works with high fire stoneware and mixes her own glazes.  She does a great job of sharing a good mix of tips, technical information and her thought about the business side of pottery.

2. Blue Starr Gallery

Blue Starr Gallery

Blog Platform – Blogger

Total 2011 posts – 337

The Blue Starr Gallery is a blog by clay artist Linda Starr who works with pinch and slab techniques. She is located in Florida and has been blogging since at least 2008. While blogging she often showcases her recent or in-progress work and offers commentary on decision making, inspiration or process.

1. NC Clay Club

NC Clay Club

Blog Platform – Blogger

Total 2011 posts – 555

The Clay Club blog has been around since at least 2008. It lists about 60 contributors but a majority of the posts in the past year have been by John Britt, glaze guru and author of The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes. On the blog he shares many glaze recipes and other technical knowledge. Definitely worth reading just for his posts alone.

Honorable Mention

Good Elephant Pottery – Mea Rhee

Bauman Stoneware – John Bauman

Paul the Potter – Paul Jessop

Liberty Stoneware - Brenda Hornsby Heindl

Support Your Local Potter – Brandon Phillips

Dan Finnegan – Dan Finnegan

Hobby Potter – Tammy Jo Schoppet

So there you have it.  The top clay blogs for 2011 according to Pottery Making Info.  If you are a big fan of pottery blogs be sure to check out the monthly Clay Blog Review or the potters and ceramic artists feed.  Thanks to all the great blogs about pottery and ceramics.  If you made the cut (or even you feel you should have or just want to pretend) you can add the following badge to your blog:

Top Blog Badge

Re-size if necessary.  Also, there are some other color options here.

*=This list was created as objectively as possible but surely there are deserving blogs that weren’t mentioned. One of the main factors this year was how often the blog showed up in the Clay Blog Review. So how does a blog get on this list or linked in the Clay Blog Review? Well, the basic criteria is to have a blog that is useful, interesting, or inspiring to other potters or artists. All of the mentioned bloggers clearly put a lot of effort into their blogs. Regular posts + good content = great blogging.

Be sure to share any blogs that you feel should have made the list. At the very least leave a comment with the URL so others can take a look.

Here’s to a great 2012 of blogs, clay and clay blogs! Thanks for reading.

Technical, Techniques, Tips

• Lori Buff shows a useful kitchen tool and shares her first demo video: wheel throwing a decanter:

• The Clay Club discusses Green Chrome Oxide and Chromium Oxide.
• Bridges Pottery Blog shares the basic tools of the trade.
• Diving Into the Clay found this video of throwin’ and trailin’:

• John Britt shares a ^10 Ice Crackle glaze recipe, three ^10 recipes and the results they produced,
• Jeanette Manchester Harris shares her technique for making a palm frond dish.
• A couple blogs shared a video of a volumetric image transfer by Forrest Lesch-Middelton:

• Lori Watts learns that garden lime might be closer to dolomite than whiting and says no to birdseed wadding but maybe to chia wadding. Then considers java wadding.
• Michael Mahan talks about carving and how to clean up sharp edges.
• Emily Reason gets some suggestions for blue underglaze.
• FetishGhost shares a 5 min. vid of applying slip to a pot:

• Raven Hill Pottery has a series of posts reviewing Coyote glazes.

Regarding Recent Work

•  Jane Bess Pottery has textured handmade ornaments.
• FetishGhost has cups for strangers (an interesting marketing idea?) and shows that brown is cool.
• Lucy Fagella has a nice slideshow of her work.
• Hanna McAndrew has photos of new work and works on puzzle jugs.
• Ron Philbeck has a video of his showroom full of pots and shows some older work.
• Hollis Engley shows off some holiday inventory and some work in progress.
• John Bauman has four different luminaries and describes his un-clobbered mugs.
• Aaron Sober has results from the salt kiln.
• Lots of work in progress at Bulldog Pottery, and even more, and finished.
• Bridgman Pottery discusses results of recent experiments.
• Nearly perfect glazing from a recent firing by Jemerick Art and some “improv” by Steve.
• Wallyware’s best selling items of the year and some additional ohata kaki red pots.
• Fresh pots from MudStuffing Sketchbook.
• Dan Finnegan shows off a few birds and some pots from a recent firing.
• Ang Wolford has bowls and plates thrown, trimmed and glazed and some finished results.
• Ben Carter has been working on five lobed plates and showing off work at the Charlie Cummings Gallery. He also has guest blogger Kristen Kieffer write about oribe ware.
• Mea Rhee shows new pots for the open house.
• Round Rabbit has textured pieces and jewelry and some pendants.
• Togeii is preparing bowls for firing.
• Jim Gottuso shows recent pots with his friends sculptures and more recent pots.
• Christine has animal-themed pots.
• Paul Jessop is working on large bowls.
• Patricia Griffin shows the last mugs with etched pod designs.
• Molly Hatch has new work at Anthropologie.
• Michael Mahan shows off some race awards and very tall vases, then gets to work on the race awards.
• Some favorite recent pieces from Vitrified Studio.
• Finally finished some pots from the summer.
• Catherine White has a series of posts with pots and interesting surroundings. Here is #12 winter solstice.
• Luke Langholz posts some favorites from the past summer/fall.
• See wood fired vessel oriented ceramic objects by Craig Edwards.
• Amy Woo finished some rabbit mugs but they’re going fast.
• Tammy Jo starts the final countdown of her year-long project.  Cup 355, cup 361, all the rest are worth a look as well.
• Linda Starr explores pedestal bowls.
• Alex Cluck works on handle-less pitchers and shows work from early 2011.
• Varda Sharon Kramer works in all kind of techniques (and makes some very nice pots).
• Alex Irvine shows how a 10×20 mural is created out of clay.  (Lots of pictures!)

Thought Provoking

•  Brandon Phillips urges us to make our lives tangible:

How do we know what we know about past cultures? Literature and from the objects they have made and left behind. What does “fine art” tell us about culture? Warning:generalization. Until the late 1800′s fine art really tells us only 2 things. It tells us about the upper class and it tells us about religion/faith. If you want to know how the masses lived you have to look at the objects they have made, ceramics, metal works, weaponry, wood works, stone carvings, etc.

• Vivi discusses senses and art:

But what a beautiful moment it is when something touches you, moves you on many different levels at once! We, as a society, tend to want to compartmentalize things, keep everything apart and not touching and tidy. But the deepest experiences we have are a messy rush of feeling, sight, sound, taste, colors, numbers, words, light and depth. If you think, right now, of a fond memory, or a sad one, I’m willing to bet that there are sounds, smells, and feelings in addition to what simply happened or what you saw.

• Heidi Fahrenbacher tells about boundaries she has set for commissions.
• On a related note, John Bauman explains why special/custom orders are “bird repellent“.
• Nell Hazinski reflects on a Malcolm Davis speech where he tries to justify making pots.
• Sequoia Miller responds to some essays in the book “Extra/Ordinary: Craft and Contemporary Art”.
• Carter Gillies talks about predictability, branding, consistency, identity and the pressures that potters face.
• Dan Finnegan, always striving for the perfect pot, realizes that he doesn’t find the “good pots” as interesting:

…it’s the mishaps that present puzzles to be solved. It’s one of the reasons that I needed to move from gas firing to wood…I’m a man who needs a problem to solve!

The Rest

Making Money and Related Endeavors

• Mea Rhee shares a tip about making more second day sales (in order to dominate the world) and discovers that running an online store isn’t so bad.
• Melissa shares what she has learned from the rollercoaster of the past year.
• Whitney Smith talks about the value of her “stuff” and gives an interesting chance at a 10% discount.
• Lori Watts shares goals for the new year including new product development and marketing strategies.  Then shares lessons from the donut shop.
• Charles the Potter reflects on the last year and considers the work schedule of a potter and how to work smarter.
• Ron Philbeck shares the square fold-out that Paul Jessop sent him.
• Lisa explains why she quit her job.

Pottery Related Tidbits

• Carole Epp shares a video about combining porcelain and QR codes and remembers Eva Zeisel.
• Karatsu Pots shares attempt #2 at molding gyubera.
• FetishGhost  shares videos: why beauty matters and  philosophy of a portrait sculptor. Then tells why he keeps a pot that should have been smashed.
• Doug Fitch uncovers a video of his hero: Michael Cardew.
• Many bloggers reflect on the passing of Malcolm Davis:  John Britt, Carole Epp, Judi Tavill, FetishGhost, Sequoia Miller, Lori Buff, Linda Starr, Brandon Phillips, Nell Hazinski
• Lori Buff talks about the importance of having a webmaster.
• Urban Jeff shares a video of Bill Strickland founder and CEO of Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild.
• Liberty Stoneware debates: jug stacker or collar?
• Ben Carter looks at how we learn and shares a 15 minute exercise.

Laugh Out Loud Nominations

Have a great 2012!

New Features

Re-designed: Before and After

The site has had some major updates over the past year.  The most noticeable is probably the design of the site which was updated in August.  New logo, new color scheme, slightly different layout, other fun features.

There were a few new features added to the Pottery Making Blog.  One, called Pottery Chatter, was short lived in it’s attempt to highlight some of the top pottery discussion from around the web in a weekly fashion.  A good idea, no doubt, but until I acquire some minions or write a program to automate the process, the task is a little too time consuming to accomplish every week.

The other blog feature, which has lasted a little longer, is the Clay Blog Review.  This is a monthly collection of links to useful blog posts by ceramic artists and potters.  Categories include technical or techniques, recent work, deep thoughts, and miscellaneous.  If you know a blog that should be included let me know.

At the very beginning of 2011 an article suggesting the top pottery blogs of 2010 was published.  It became pretty popular and a new article is in the works.  At the end of 2011 the clay tile social media icons were made available.

There have been some great additions in other areas as well.  A Pottery Dictionary was added.  The idea for an encyclopedia was started.  The pottery directory was organized and expanded.  Remember, if you have a pottery or ceramics site, you can add it to the directory (for free!).

Goals for 2011

How did we do?  Goals set at the beginning of 2011 included:  adding more links to the directory, starting a pottery dictionary, informative blog posts, upgrading video tools and a new design for the site.

Three and a half out of five isn’t bad?

Goals for 2012

• Finish the ceramics dictionary.
• Add 5-10 entries into the encyclopedia.
• Write a few original articles.
• Continue the Clay Blog Review.
• Update the Feeds and Search Tools.
• 100 total facebook, friend connect or networked blog followers.
• Try to con someone into guest blogging.
• A few more Site of the Day posts.
• Take over the world?

Stats

Just for fun I thought it might be interesting (to somebody?) to view some stats provided by the Pottery Making Info site analytics.

Top 5 pages of 2011:

1. Top Pottery Blogs of 2010
2. Pottery Making Info Home Page
3. Working Artists and Potters Feed
4. Mixing Pottery Glazes
5. Pottery Making Blog

I guess people REALLY want to find out what the top pottery blogs are.  Other than that, nothing too surprising.

Top 5 countries visiting:

1. United States
2. Canada
3. India
4. United Kingdom
5. Philippines

I was a little surprised to see India ahead of the UK (by 9) but I guess there are a LOT of people in India.  And I didn’t expect Philippines to crack the top 5.  Maybe there are a lot of Philippine potters?

Top 5 Web Browsers:

1. Safari – 34%
2. Internet Explorer – 30%
3. Firefox – 22%
4. Chrome – 12%
5. Android Browser – 1%

This was pretty surprising to me since Safari is generally considered to have the fourth largest market share.

Top 5 Operating Systems:

1. Windows – 58%
2. Mac – 30%
3. iPad – 8%
4. Linux – 2%
5. iPhone – 1%

Top two are unsurprising.  I was surprised to see the iPad so high on the list (especially because I thought it was a device and not an OS!) but I can believe it.  I guess I’ll have to start testing the site on an iPad running Safari to confirm a great user experience!

Thanks

Thank you to all the visitors, contributors, and fans of Pottery Making Info.  I appreciate all the feedback and support.  I hope you had a wonderful 2011 and will have an even better 2012.  Here’s to another great year of making pottery!

Speckled Clay Social Media Icons

What better time than the holiday season to share these fantastic little clay tiles.  Each icon comes in both jpg and png file formats in the following sizes: 16×16, 32×32, 64×64 and 128×128 pixels.  Originally, these were made for links at the bottom of each page here at Pottery Making Info.  But there are plenty of other people that work with clay on the web so now YOU can add them to your site, free of charge!  Just download the Clay Icons zip file and unzip it.  Then choose the size and format you need and upload those images to your own site.  Feel free to use them any way you wish.

Some of the 16×16 pixel images are a little hard to read but most of those have an alternate design which works well.  Logos that are included:

• Artfire
• Blank Tile (just speckled clay)
• Delicious
• Digg
• Email (envelope)
• Etsy (x2)
• Facebook
• Folksy
• Pinterest
• Pottery Making Info
• Reddit
• RSS
• Squidoo
• StumbleUpon (x2)
• Twitter (x2)
• YouTube

If you use some of the icons on your site leave a comment or send an email or tweet so we can show off your site.  Have a safe and happy holiday season and a new year filled with… clay!

Technical, Techniques, Tips

• A nice pictorial demonstration of the slab and paddle technique by KaratsuPots, and construction images of a kiln from start to finish.
• John Britt shares ^10 glaze samples and recipes: Rutile 11, Mutsuo Black, shares an article about Snowflake Crackle glaze, and videos a throwing demonstration.

• View the process to make a press mold out of plaster at Jemerick Art.
• Tracey Broom shows her diy bead tree that she uses to fire beads and pendants and shares a turquoise glaze recipe for raku.
• See video of a workshop demo: printing on clay from Ang Design Blog.

• FetishGhost shares a ^10 Red Chun recipe and some blue glaze test results.
• Carole Epp shares a video of Carol Gouthro building with slabs and tar paper.

• Atelier Marla shares a process to test for thermal shock.
• Ron Philbeck demonstrates how to cut feet on bowls via “the ‘tube”:

• Liberty Stoneware has slip test results.
• Ann Tubbs explains how she prepares to glaze.
• Linda Starr shares recent work and talks firing temps.
• Lori Watts has a few notes from a soda firing.

Regarding Recent Work

• FetishGhost tests a few ideas.
• Doug Fitch has finished and in-progress work and more finished work.
• Lots of photos of the kiln and finished pots at Good Elephant Pottery.
• Keith at Mudstuffing Sketchbook shares a couple mugs with silkscreened decals.
• Finished pots by Brandon Phillips.
• Paul Jessop works on large bowls, unloads the kiln.
• Ron Philbeck has videos: 1, 2, 3, 4.
• Jemerick Art Pottery shows progress on an umbrella stand and pots at different stages and more.
• Linda Starr has ornaments and cutouts and handbuilt items and a myriad of mugs and talks about tiles.
• MudHeart Pottery has some finished porcelain pieces with other work in progress.
• Margaret Brampton has finished fish bowls.
• Michael Mahan shows off textured tree vases.
• Some just thrown pots at Simple Circle Studios.
• Deb Thuman shows some sculptures and recent low fire work.
• Gary Jackson shares what he has in the bisque kiln and finished work and on display.
• Recent woodfired work by Lee.
• Whitney Smith has a lot of cute stuff recently.
• Jim Gottuso works on interesting pots and finishes them.
• KaratsuPots has chawan and guinomi.
• Atelier Marla shows off some colorful cups and platters.
• Kyle Carpenter has salty surfaced pots for sale.
• Finished pots from St. Earth Pottery.
• Dan Finnegan unloads the kiln.
• Vitrified Studio has some nice images of new work.
• Kristen Kieffer showcases some elegant excellence.
• Urban Jeff shares recent wood firing results via facebook.
• Lucy Fagella stocks up for the holiday sale.
• Ariel Bowman shows off some ceramic sculptures.

Thought Provoking

•  Dirty Girl Pottery explains what makes her happy.

 I crave my time at the wheel because it’s when the ego goes away, the second mind shuts ups, all the tyranny of shoulds and have to’s disappear and all I hear is the sound of the wet clay slipping through my fingers and a faint whisper of the form that is being manifested right before my eyes.  It’s exhilarating and humbling.  It’s the feeling you have after a long deep meditation, trance or prayer.  Creating a pot is sacred.  Consciously creating our lives is sacred.

• Carole Epp shares a quote:

• FetishGhost tackles issues of legibility.
• Ron Philbeck rambles about being an artist:

We are often sensitive, unsure, lonely, self abusive, and have the self confidence of a maggot at the bottom of a trash bin. But we get to do what we love!

The Rest

•  Linda Starr shares a pit firing video.
• Carole Epp shares a video about Steven Hill.
• Ang shares a 45 minute slipware video.
• FetishGhost shares a video of ceramics as performance art.
• A few blogs posted about the CNN story on Empty Bowls.
• Brandon Phillips shares a video about Mike Dodd.
• Togeii videos himself throwing bowls.
• Carole Epp shares and interesting website and finds a portable gas kiln and tells how you can help Craft Australia and International Ceramics Studio.
• John Britt shares a glaze website.
• Keith has a new booth with track lighting.
• Scott Cooper explains his change of card.
• Kristen Kieffer has an image summary of 2011 from her studio.
• Charles the Potter discusses maker’s marks.
• DirtKicker Pottery warns you to be careful of the names you use on Etsy.
• Ben Carter shares the CM article about his studio visit.
• Lori Watts digs up ways to accept credit cards.
• Good Elephant Pottery tries an indie-craft experiment and the results.
• KaratsuPots discusses throwing tools and how to make your own.
• Karen Mahoney offers five reasons to buy a handmade mug.
• John Baumann, quite apparently, will never learn. But he shares some interesting tool/equipment ideas.
• Ron Philbeck tries to explain the “hierarchy“.

Technical, Techniques, Tips

•  Linda Starr uses porcelain sand on kiln shelves to prevent warping and cracking.
• Lori Watts is going to try some of Vince Pitelka’s glaze recipes, shows how to make a slab built jar with lid and makes her own G-200 Feldspar.
• Gary Jackson makes stamps, explains how he keeps handles “happy” and shares his secrets to making stamped ovals.
• Dan Finnegan shows how to make a teapot spout that pours well and how he makes fat tiles.
• Kelly Kessler shares a video and discusses proper throwing technique and digs up some videos about Yixing teapots.

•  John Britt shows off a fancy graph about mesh size, finds some ^6 glaze tests by Terry Rorison and shares a ^10 glaze: Rutile 11.
• Karatsu Pots shows clay with different amounts of sand added and shows the slab and paddle technique.
• Togeii posts three videos of trimming bowls.

Regarding Recent Work

• Gary Jackson makes bowls that aren’t plain, stamped cylinders,
• K. Houser shares results from the train kiln
• Deb Thuman isn’t sure if she likes low firing in reduction but does like a mica teapot
• Tracey Broome continues to make interesting barns
• Paine Falls creates lunch boxes for potters as well as nonfunctional work.
• Linda Starr is still making wall sculptures and tiles.
• Doug Fitch has finished some jugs.
• Luke Langholz previews a glaze firing and has more finished pots.
• Phil Rogers shares some finished work (check the other posts too).
• Clementina Ceramics has some brightly colored tiles.
• Judi Tavill shows wood fired pots.
• Karatsu Pots has work in progress and decorates with a brush and applies slip to 40 cups.
• Lucy Fagella has biodegradable urns.
• Paul Jessop works on a large platter.
• Rob of Simple Circle Studios has some interesting vessels.
• Glynnis Lessing talks tumblers.
• Ron Philbeck is back in the pottery making groove.
• Patricia Griffin has more from the woodcut series.
• Hannah McAndrew is working on jugs and dishes.
• Tom Edwards has new red pots.
• FetishGhost finds only one success in a whole firing.  Better than none I guess…
• Bfree Pottery has finished new work.
• P. Bridges explains a new platter.
• Michael Mahan shows some work from firing 20.
• Keith of MudStuffing Sketchbook is stoked about some recent results.

Thought Provoking

•  Clementina Ceramics shares an article by Kevin Murray about outsourcing work to survive as a ceramicist:

The local “Western” craftsperson needs to open dialogue with traditional “Eastern” craftspeople, to offer market opportunity and keep skills alive. We need tradition and humanity in our daily life.

• A few blogs shared a quote by Ira Glass:

Ira Glass Quote

•  But something didn’t seem right to Carter Gillies:

The way I see it almost no one gets into pottery because they have good taste. The truth actually seems to be that most people can’t appreciate subtlety in visual things in general, but in terms of understanding pottery there is a huge gap in appreciating what counts as quality. The gap isn’t between our taste and what we can do about it, but in actually having the taste to see quality.

• John Britt shares a quote by Chuck Close and encourages us to Get to Work!
• Togeii of Nanban Ceramics shares his point of view about Japanese culture and ceramics:

It has long been my belief that one of the main clash points of trying to understand Japan has been the Japanese propensity to reject certain strains of rationality. It could be stated that Japan can be more easily understood through lenses of emotion, of tribal hues.

• Lori Buff shares some tips to be less stressed:

The thing is, sometimes being very busy, and stressed because of it cuts down on creativity.  We may not be as busy next year if we aren’t creative enough this season so now is a good time to think about some things we can do to prevent or get over the creativity suck of being very busy.

• Whitney Smith’s philosophy is “just do“:

Anyway, “just do” is a way of reminding myself to stop thinking, and just go do what I’m meant to do.   Which is making things.  And answering the emails of people who want me to make more things for them specially. “Just do”  means getting out of bed when I wake up, so I can go to the studio to make the stuff I need to make  and want to make.  And not thinking about whether it will sell or if it’s a stupid idea.

• Michael Kline shares some thoughts from Don Pilcher as he compares “apples to oranges“

The Rest

• Ben Carter shares an evolving teapot tradition and some big pots.
• FetishGhost shares the incomplete manifesto for growth by Bruce Mau.
• Karen Mahoney shares some tips for travel friendly pots.
• Not just sports and movie stars get to promote products!
• The thought process behind the tagline for Bella Joy Pottery.
• (Mud)Bucket finds out that not everyone likes free publicity.
• Mug Revolution defines microwave safe.
• Carole Epp shares some sad news about Craft Australia and a call to action.
• A couple blogs hope to save NSCAD.
• Rae Dunn shares the experience of the 2.5 year custom order.
• Judi Tavill shares a new artist statement.
• A nomination for clay item with the longest title of the year.
• Kristen Kieffer lets us take a peek inside the studio.

Making Money and Related Endeavors

• Lori Watts shares her philosophy of business:

So, if the goal isn’t money, what is it? I submit that the purpose of your business – the true purpose of any business – is a dual: to provide the best product or service that it can in the process of realizing of human potential.

• She also finds things aren’t as she expected after making the leap.

Thoughts on Steve Jobs

• Mea Rhee
• Lori Buff
• Paine Falls
• Scott Cooper, part 2

Laugh Out Loud Nominations

• Paine Falls describes what happens during show season:

This morning I found myself eating a piece of toast I found on the counter ……..

the dog probably licked the butter and jelly off.

Get Your Popcorn Ready

• Many blogs shared Ceramics: A Fragile History by the BBC.
• Margaret Brampton shares a video of a visit to Grayson Perry’s studio.
•  Ang Wolford works (quickly!) in the studio and has video to prove it.
• FetishGhost shares an interview with Agnes Martin.

Agnes Martin Interview (20:00 version, 1997) from Chuck Smith on Vimeo.

Technical, Techniqes, Tips

• Ron Philbeck shares the tools he uses for carving clay and a video to reduce dust while decorating (above).
• Meagan Chaney shares the secret “behind” her tile plaques.
• Bfree Clay has a tenmoku recipe and some nice images of the glaze and description of a recent firing.
• Brandon Phillips describes how he processes local materials (red clay, wood ash) to use for pottery.
• John Britt shows how a mistake turned into a new glaze.  And shares the recipes.  He also has a recipe for St. John’s Repair Cement and Steve Slatin’s GNU Blue ^6 and a Blue Celadon ^10.  And he also makes movies: Extruding Test Tiles.
• Gary Jackson: (stamped) ovals in three easy steps.  At least he makes it SEEM easy…
• Glynnis Lessing gives a lesson on oval casserole dishes (with pictures!)
• Liberty Stoneware explains the process of salt glazing and shows off a new toy.
• Brandon Phillips explains his treadle wheel piece by piece.
• Karatsu Pots has some not-quite-blueprints of a Korean style kickwheel.
• Linda Starr talks about warping during firing and swirl marks in her clay.
• Charles uses facebook to give a pictorial demo of acorn plates.
• Danny Knox shares throwing and decorating techniques from a recent workshop.
• Dan Finnegan has a few pictures of his slip setup and technique.
• AlexMMR shows one way to deal with runny glazes.
• Michael Mahan describes how he fires his local clay.

Regarding Recent Work

•  Patricia Griffin shows bowls from her woodcut series.
• Amy Huacani has some works in progress – etching and glazing.
• Ann Tubbs adds ceramic tiles to a coffee table.
• Deb Thuman shares some recent slab work: boxes and canisters, candlestick holders and dish.
• Phil Rogers has a series of posts with recent work.  The earliest being an Ash Glazed Yunomi.
• Rob of Simple Circle Studios decorates with slip.
• Paul Jessop shares some finished pots.
• Scott Cooper shares some work in progress and a theory on cracks his cracking problem.
• Gary Jackson has more shots of bowls before and after stamping, decorates ornaments, loads a bisque kiln and a soda kiln, and then unloads the kiln.
• Hollis Engley shares recent work and why some of his pots could have exploded.  And results from a shino-heavy firing.
• Luke Langholz has photos of pots in progress and finished pots and describes some glaze results.
• Linda Starr has finished some once fired pieces without glaze and uses a hump mold to make a sunburst platter.
• Ben Carter works out the kinks in tureen forms.
• Karatsu Pots uses saggars in a gas kiln.
• Ann makes bird baths, bells, bowls and more.
• Doug Fitch is has been busy throwing, slipping, and preparing to raw glaze.
• Liberty Stoneware has lots of pots in progress and shows off a recent firing.
• Brandon Phillips has some good things going in the studio and prepares pots for etsy.
• Ron Philbeck has finished pots in video format.
• Hannah McAndrew has many finished slipped pieces.
• Keith of MudStuffing Sketchbook has been busy at the wheel and has been working with decals.
• Patricia Bridges unloads the kiln.
• Margaret Brampton makes salt pigs and decorates them with drawings.
• Sea Bear shows off a bunch of mugs.

Thought Provoking

•  Clementina van der walt asks a tough question while comparing prices of handmade items and tableware manufactured in China:

Or is making tableware by hand becoming a completely anachronistic activity which can only be practised by those who have an alternative outside income?

Say it isn’t so!

• Carter Gillies shares some interesting thoughts about pots which leads to a lengthy discussion between clay bloggers.
• In another post Carter considers the idea that if an object is useful it can’t be ‘art’.

Where else but in art can a thing be more valuable if it doesn’t work? Where else in life is the pure contemplation of an object more revealing than also getting a hands on viscerally interactive exposure to it? How absolutely absurd this seems.

• After reading the book “Start With Why” Lisa applies her notes from book club to write why she is a potter:

To connect people to something real.  This world is full of fake, artificial, reproduced, and made in China.  Pottery gives people the opportunity to bring items into their home specially created through passion, love and artistic talent.  A handmade pot’s reason for being the world is to be treasured.  To be beautiful.

• Scott Cooper gives us a glimpse behind the curtain of tw@se and reminds us pot makers what’s actually important:

Having ideas is important, but making pots is not about the idea. It’s about making. It’s about the doing. The lie of putting concept before process, in my experience, is that you just never know if an idea is actually good until you put it to work. The best ones come through the work; they are revealed by the doing, by the discipline, by the execution.

• Tracey Broome is stubborn and shares her thoughts on facebook vs. blogs:

That brings me to Facebook. Most of you know my feelings on this subject. Not a fan. After reading Kyle’s post, I thought I would give it another go, so I went to several people’s pages and tried to read them. BORING……….. visually boring, the content is short blurbs, no serious thought put into the postings and everyone likes everything. It’s pretty much a commentary on our society right now. And it’s a sad one as far as I’m concerned. It’s also sad that people are choosing to facebook as opposed to blogging. Blogs can be so creative, so thought provoking, so visual and interesting. I have not found one facebook page yet that I could stay on for more than a minute before I was bored with it.

• Whitney Smith offers advice to artists just starting out: use social media.  (Check the comments for a good discussion).

And when I say “social media” I am referring to the social media juggernaut: the facebook, blogging, and the twitter.  And Flikr, which I guess is social media, but I look at it more as online image storage.

The Rest

•  Lori Buff gives a short review of “Functional Pottery” by Robin Hopper and suggests benefits of donating pottery or time to a non-profit organization.
• Paul Jessop has slip issues and later solves the mystery.
• Aaron Sober goes back to school and is happy to be back in the studio.
• Hannah McAndrew shares some images of “still movement“.
• Mea Rhee shares her choice for potting footwear and weighs the pros and cons of applying to the retail-only section of a show.
• Mary Starosta tells why she prefers flat lids.
• Lucy Fagella shares an interesting thought about photographing her work and who she is marketing to.
• John Bauman describes so eloquently the attraction of potters to pots.
• Dan Finnegan shares his feelings about adding a dustcatcher to a mug.
• Karatsu Pots comes up with some quick tables for upcoming exhibitions.  And version 2.

Making Money and Related Endeavors

• Lori Buff shares a tip to sell more art and she doesn’t like the time required to list items on etsy.
• Carole Epp and Kelly Kessler find a formula to calculate the price of work.
• Togeii shares an etsy experience and warns others of a troublesome buyer.

Get your popcorn ready!

• Doug Fitch decorates pots in The Movie
• Brandon Phillips shares a video about pottery Jim Malone.
• Ang Walford posts a teaser for the Slipware Movie.

Laugh Out Loud Nominations

• Dan Finnegan finds a humorous sign.
• Paul Jessop had “three nutters in the workshop all at the same time”.  I don’t know who these people are and I can’t decide if I want to find out or not!

*You’ll notice the bullets made it back for another month.  And now we have moving pictures! Special thanks to Ron for sharing all his great videos.  There would have been more embedded but we’re already late so I’ll go all out for next month.  I shuffled the order of the sections to put the most important(?)/useful links at the top.

Regarding Recent Work

•  John Bauman explains his “crooknecks“.
• Atelier Marla tells how she slab built a Sun Goddess.
• Paul Jessop shows some earthenware glazes on bowls and pitchers, is unimpressed with some slip results.
• Patricia Bridges shows how she stencils on slabs.
• Hollis Engley shares results from a collaborative salt firing.
• Michael Mahan shows some new stamps in action, shows off slipped and carved plates, more fancy stamping, pots from the wood kiln.
• Liberty Stoneware discusses recent production pottery, has photos of a salt firing.
• Samantha from Bulldog Pottery explains some recent barrel pitchers and pedestal bowls.
• Linda Starr describes her thoughts and process for a seahorse project and shares some finished bowls.
• Round Rabbit shows off a new technique.  So many colors and shapes!
• Dirty Girl tries some new glaze combinations on her staycation.
• FetishGhost turns a mishap into an opportunity to critique a recent pot.
• K. Houser shares some sexy pictures and describes results from a recent firing.
• Russell Wrankle learns to make a mold for his hare sculptures.
• Jim Gottuso talks about terra sig and has photos.
• Kitty Shepherd works on a vase so long (8 months!) that it begins to attract moths.
• Brandon Phillips is busy: works in progress.
• Urban Jeff makes himself a tea caddy.
• Yolande Clark shares a recent firing.
• Wild Iris has been working on tea sets.
• Tracey Broome reflects on some recent work, works with decals.
• Deb Thuman has a canister and boxes in progress.
• Gary Jackson pulls and attaches handles to mugs.
• Scott Cooper completes a glaze fire.
• Ann Tubbs explains how she creates tiles for a table.

Technical, Technique, Tips

•  Lori Watts answers the question, “Can you bisque in a soda kiln?” (yes) and shares her two rules for unloading the kiln. Then she tells how to pour a plaster drying block.
• Patricia Bridges shows how to check how even a kiln fires: use witness cones.
• John Britt unearths some slip recipes in pdf form, shares videos about recycling clay and fixing porcelain handles.
• Ron Philbeck shows how he slips a plate with those fancy moving pictures.
• DirtKicker Pottery likes smaller glaze buckets.
• Melissa from the Raging Bowl continues transmutating, now with slip.
• John Bauman shares a tip about visualizing glaze combinations.
• A handle tutorial (with pictures) by Dan Finnegan.
• Carter Gillies finds a video about cups.
• Ann (of Ann’s Goodies) shows how she applies glaze with some custom tools.
• Linda Starr gives the step by step process of mixing mason stain slips.

Thought Provoking

•  Tracey Broom writes about the importance of friends:

My point in all of this is that you can’t just stay stuck in your studios and work. You have to get out and see the world, hopefully with people that inspire you. For less than $10, you can get a cup of coffee or some nice chai and have a great conversation with someone that is likely to inspire or encourage you.

•  Mea Rhee shares some thoughts on where a potter should live:

…just because a potter’s income is modest and unpredictable, that doesn’t mean you have to live in the country. You can also choose to live cheaply in a big city. It pays to live within a big population center, because local selling is the backbone of a good business plan.

• Patricia Griffin briefly shares three ways that galleries are helping her become a better artist.
• Togeii shares insight into Japanese culture and making things.
• John Bauman has a conversation with his friend Greg covering art vs. craft and the value of art (and/0r craft):

When viewed from the perspective down a long timeline of art history, the confusion of art and craft that we are discussing is a rather recent — Romantic Era — re-definition of something that had been accepted as the norm for art for centuries before. Until that recently, for the most part the art world accepted that art was the concept and craft was the execution….and it didn’t matter who did the executin’.

Other

Making Money and Related Endeavors

•  Carole Epp found a great article about pricing your work.
• Josie Jurczenia shows off new cups and shares feelings about wholesale vs. retail.
• Observations about Etsy by Liberty Stoneware.
• Lorri Watts tries to make everything add up, buries the hatchet with Etsy.
• Heidi of Bella Joy Pottery gets an email from PayPal.
• Carter Gillies shares a not-so-positive experience with Etsy.

Laugh Out Loud Nominations

• Jeff Guin concerning pissed off squirrels.
• Lori Buff finally reveals the identity of Super Potter.
• Whitney Smith discovers the secret to making stacks of cash with her pottery wheel.  (After a little Googling the site with the “secret” was found here. You can take a look FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY, well, at least until I get my affiliate link set up!)

Of Interest to Potters

• Jeffrey Guin has a series of posts moving and fixing up a kiln.
• Shannon Garson breaks away from the traditional pot-on-a-plain-background photograph and adds some context.
• Marian Parkes shows off her photo rig done “on the even cheaper”.
• John Bauman comes up with a few pottery posters.
• Michael Kline reviews the children’s book “Dave the Potter“.
• Clay and Ginger highlights some reasons to cook with stoneware.
• Dan Finnegan shares the history of his stamp.
• Michael Mahan finds another use for broken pottery and shows how he recently loaded his kiln.
• How to organize a studio? Gary Jackson loves pegboard!
• Two lessons learned by FetishGhost at Visions in Clay.
• Togeii shares videos of pottery repair.
• Julie Bradley of ThePatientPotter reviews a book about the life  of Slave Potter Dave.

As always, if there is a blog post out there that you think should be on the list, let everyone know with a comment. Thanks for reading.

pottery making info - burst logo

Welcome to Pottery Making Info: version 2.0!  In my free time over the last few weeks I’ve been working on  re-designing the site.  The original site was functional but I wanted to spend a little more time on the aesthetic value this time.  It still won’t win any awards but it seems to be an improvement.

There are still a few bugs to work out, most notably the site search function in the menu bar.  There are also a few spacing issues and a lot of testing and tweaking to do. If you see anything that looks a little goofy let me know. I haven’t done a lot of testing yet so things that are a little off should be found and fixed soon (relatively speaking due to some other life experiences currently happening).

During this extreme site makeover there have been a number of changes and improvements:

• New homepage – the home page is a good place to start but I thought it could use a little more “texture” so you can view some pottery related social media now.
• New logo and colors – brown and it’s most interesting variations.
• New Menu – a fancy dropdown menu adds a little more structure and navigability.
• Dictionary – the current state is more of a rough draft.  It may or may not become a finished draft.
• Site Search – good idea, clumsy execution. Currently part of the navigation bar but it doesn’t quite fit. Does anyone really use site search anyway?
• New submission forms – furnished by 123 Contact Forms but mostly untested at this point.
• Fancy icons – There are plenty of social media icons out there but not a lot of pottery-specific choices.  Problem solved.
• Networked Blogs – If you like the Pottery Making Blog follow it on Networked Blogs under pottery or ceramics.
• Directory re-organized – The Pottery Directory is still small but has been re-0rganized to prepare for expansion and world domination.
• Updated FAQ – the technical side of the update and a few other questions answered.
• Probably a few other small updates which I forgot about at the moment.

If you have feedback or any good ideas let me know.  Thanks for checking in.