Creative Pottery: A Step-By-Step Guide and Showcase [Paperback]

Michelle Coakes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1998

A book for all potters seeking new techniques and fresh approaches. Creative Pottery features step-by-step insight to the work of nine distinguished craftspeople. Join such renowned potters as Chris Staley, Linda Arbuckle, Michael Simon, and Peter Pinnell in their own studios as they create beautiful pottery forms. Three sections explore technique, inspiration, and approach:

--Forming-wheelthrowing, throwing and altering, and hand-building

--Surface-raw glazing, Majolica techniques, and spray glazing

--Firing-wood firing, electric raku firing, and primitive firing by the potters of Jatun Molino

--Plus tools, clay and glaze recipes, and tricks of the trade

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These two books are good sources of ideas for studio potters. Coakes presents a diverse collection of projects with glaze recipes and tips on technique from 19 potters. Many excellent photographs of additional pieces showcase the artists' work. Tichane has recipes and technical information for the ancient process of glazing with wood ash, which produces an earthy, mottled appearance favored by Asian potters. Tichane has researched the available information on ash glazes and brought it up-to-date for modern potters. This revised edition of a 1987 book has been expanded with an additional section of color photographs. Both books are suitable for crafts collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Potter, teacher, and writer, Michelle Coakes directs the ceramics program at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. She has previously taught at Western Kentucky University, Florida Gulf Coast Art Center, Appalachian Center for Crafts, and Arrowmont School. Coakes has written on pottery for such publications as Ceramics Monthly and NCECA Journal, and also exhibits her own ceramic work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Rockport Publishers (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564963152
• ISBN-13: 978-1564963154
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,263,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great tips, wonderful galleries, April 30, 2001

By 

Angel Lee "Liocorno Amethyst Moonstone" (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Creative Pottery: A Step-By-Step Guide and Showcase (Paperback)

This is a nice introduction to pottery techniques for initial constructions to fishing off with surface decorations and firing techniques. The large galleries are a great inspiration for artists of all levels.

The book is broken into three main sections: forming, surface and firing. The first focus on creating clay objects; both throwing techniques and slab construction are covered here. Projects include making cups, a square covered jar and a slab teapot. The second section concentrates on surface techniques included raw glazing, majolica decoration and using terra sigillata. The third section gives instruction on three different firing techniques including using a gas reduction kiln, anagama kiln and raku-firing.

You are guided seamlessly though each project with step-by-step instructions and photos. In the surface and firing sections the emphasis is on the finishing technique being featured, with basic information on how the object to be decorated was created. Some knowledge of the creation process is assumed. Each projects includes "notes for the studio" that I found very helpful. They give great advice on everything from the amount of clay your glazes contain to getting jar lids to fit correctly.

There are beautiful galleries of numerous pieces after each section as well. Information on the gallery objects includes the artist, techniques used and size in both metric and English measurements. Contact information on the artists is provided in the back.

In addition there are clay and glaze recipes from each artist. There are over 30 in total including a majolica base and Ferguson blue raku glaze. A list of schools that offer intensive workshops in pottery is also included. Although a fully equipped pottery studio is needed to complete most of the projects, this book offers a great overview of processes and techniques for the novice and wonderful examples of finished work for the lover of the potter's art.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars outstanding text, elaborately illustrated, April 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Creative Pottery: A Step-By-Step Guide and Showcase (Paperback)

Michelle has written a wonderfully informative text. The book clearly depicts a wide variety of styles and techniques. The words of the individual artists help make the book even more powerful. Unique is the wide variety of approaches to working in the clay. A must have for the libraries of any serious students of clay.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for the beginning potter, October 19, 2009

By 

Cheryl T. (Ohio) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Creative Pottery: A Step-By-Step Guide and Showcase (Paperback)

Nice photos of the featured artists' works. Very brief/partial step-by-steps of 10 contemporary potters that just touch on a few building, glazing and firing methods.