Pottery You Can Use: An essential guide to making plates, pots, cups and jugs - Softcover

Atkin, Jacqui

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1782215603 ISBN 13: 9781782215608

Publisher: Search Press, 2017

Synopsis

We all use ceramics on a daily basis without thinking much about it, except when it comes to a favourite mug or cup, for instance. Why is it a favourite? Is it that it holds just the right amount of tea or coffee? Is it that it sits comfortably in the hand with an ample handle that allows you to hold it safely? Is it the clay the cup is made from ― a fine porcelain or robust stoneware? Is it the rustic shape or refined, delicate, traditional or contemporary design? Maybe you just like the pattern on the outside!

Whatever the reason, someone will have been thinking about the ergonomics of the cup when they designed and made it and all the other ceramic items that you use, to ensure they work perfectly and give you pleasure to handle and serve your food and drink in.

This book is a visual feast of ideas and advice to guide the maker through the process of designing and making successful functional ceramics that are practical and appealing in equal measure. It adopts a low-tech approach that is understandable and accessible for all and begins with the basic questions you will need to address before you begin.

Each element of the process will be carefully considered, from deciding the function of the item to working out proportions and making basic drawings, to choosing the right clay, tools, and making method, and finally glazing and firing, including safety issues and the essential topic of suitability for food.

Each chapter begins by presenting a varied range of basic shapes, be they thrown or hand built. The next section demonstrates a wide selection of handles, rims, feet, lids, knobs, spouts, lips, and other details that can be mixed and matched to form unique designs with personality and functionality.

Working the whole process out in advance can reap tremendous rewards, ensuring the maker gets it right first time but also allowing the process to be repeated with minimum effort. From idea to finished item, this book will be the essential guide to all the techniques required to make functional ceramics that really work and give lasting pleasure to use.

About this title

About the Author

Jacqui Atkin is a professional studio ceramicist, author and gallery owner living in rural Shropshire, England. Currently working as editorial consultant and project editor for ClayCraft magazine, she is one of the UK's foremost teacher-authors writing today. She is the author of Beginner's Guide to Pottery & Ceramics and Pottery You Can Use. She has amassed an impressive number of five-star reviews for her books on Amazon.

Visit her website www.jacquiatkin.com.

From the Back Cover

Everyone has a favourite mug, an agreeably deep cereal bowl or a plate that fits perfectly in the cabinet. Now you can learn how to create those pieces that will feel just right and work best for you. Pottery You Can Use will show you how to:

• Decide the function of the item
• Work out proportions and make basic drawings
• Choose the right clay and tools
• Consider your best design decisions, techniques and variations
• Pick the best method: throwing, slabbing, or coiling
• Choose food-safe glazes, and more

Successful teacher, designer and author Jacqui Atkin explains how to handcraft pieces that are beautiful and practical, from plates, cups and saucers to casserole dishes, pitchers and tureens. Start today and you’ll soon have the pieces that marry beauty, form and function.

Edition details

• Publisher: Search Press
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1782215603
• ISBN 13: 9781782215608
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224