Lesley

  • Is Polish Pottery Oven Safe? – Can it Take the Heat?

    Is Polish Pottery Oven Safe? – Can it Take the Heat?

    Ovens are now part and parcel of every household’s kitchen for faster preparation of various dishes. The biggest concern when using an oven is pondering if your ceramics are oven safe. Polish pottery is no exception to this. And if you own some pieces, you have probably wondered if Polish pottery is oven safe. Polish…

  • Slab Built Mugs – 4 Ways to Make Fab Slab Mugs

    Slab Built Mugs – 4 Ways to Make Fab Slab Mugs

    Slab built mugs can be lovely to look at and a pleasure to use.  And yet, making a well-crafted slab mug is a simple process.  The basic technique for making slab mugs is the simple cylinder mug.  Once you know how to make a cylinder mug, you can build on this and make a whole…

  • How to Make Slab Pottery Mug Templates – 6  Great Designs

    How to Make Slab Pottery Mug Templates – 6  Great Designs

    Whilst you can freestyle it when making slab pottery, it often works out best when you use a template.  And mugs are no exception to this.  So, I’ve put together this guide which covers some of the best and easiest ways to make slab pottery mug templates. I will be covering how to make templates…

  • What is UNIKAT Polish Pottery? And What Makes it Special?

    What is UNIKAT Polish Pottery? And What Makes it Special?

    Polish pottery is famous for being hand-made and hand-painted by skilled artisans. It is rare to find one piece that is exactly the same as the other, as each piece is a product of an individual artist. You may have heard of UNIKAT Polish pottery and wondered what it is. Here’s what you need to…

  • What do Boleslawiec Pottery Marks Look Like?

    What do Boleslawiec Pottery Marks Look Like?

    Boleslawiec pottery marks are primarily used to identify the quality, company, and country of origin. They are usually located under the ceramics base providing a reliable means to tell authentic antique pieces. However, some marks are forgeries and you can’t easily distinguish them. This is because a good amount of time and effort is spent…

  • How to Identify Polish Pottery – 3 Key Features

    How to Identify Polish Pottery – 3 Key Features

    Also known as Boleslawiec pottery, Polish pottery is among the finest and most valuable types of pottery. It originates from a Polish village called Boleslawiec, hence the name.  If you are an aspiring pottery enthusiast or collector, you probably want to know how to identify polish pottery. Luckily for you, it is quite easy to…

  • Best Surface for Rolling Clay – 8 Ways to Stop Clay Sticking

    Best Surface for Rolling Clay – 8 Ways to Stop Clay Sticking

    Rolling a nice, even slab is essential for slab building pottery.  However, a common problem when learning to roll slabs of clay is to find that they stick to your work surface.  This problem can usually be solved by rolling on the right kind of surface.  But what is the best surface for rolling clay? …

  • Saggar Firing – How to Make Simple Aluminum Saggars

    Saggar Firing – How to Make Simple Aluminum Saggars

    Saggar Firing In the past, the term ‘saggar’ referred to a container that pottery was fired in.  These containers were made of heat-resistant, refractory material.  They were designed to protect the pots from the fumes, flames, and debris in the atmosphere of the kiln. Today saggars are often used for the opposite purpose.  These days…

  • Washing Bisqueware – Is it a Waste of Time?

    Washing Bisqueware – Is it a Waste of Time?

    I’m in the habit of giving my bisque pottery a wipe down with a damp sponge before glazing.  But I recently read that some potters never wipe or wash down their bisque ware.  I wanted to know if I was wasting my time, so I looked into the pros and cons of washing bisqueware, and…

  • Underglaze Flaking, Cracking and Peeling – Top Solutions

    Underglaze Flaking, Cracking and Peeling – Top Solutions

    I love using underglaze, and for the most part, I find it very versatile and reliable.  However, just occasionally, I have had an issue with underglaze flaking, cracking, and peeling.  So, I went on a mission to find out why this was happening, and this is what I have discovered… The most common cause of…

  • Decorating Pottery – 21 Great Ways to Decorate Clay

    Decorating Pottery – 21 Great Ways to Decorate Clay

    There are lots of different ways of decorating pottery.  And each of these techniques can be used to put your own individual stamp on a piece of ceramics. Decorating pottery can be done at different stages in the process of making a piece of ware.  For example, glazing pottery is done after the pot has…

  • How to Tell How Old Pottery Is – 5 Ways to Date Pottery

    How to Tell How Old Pottery Is – 5 Ways to Date Pottery

    It is not always easy to tell how old pottery is. In fact, it requires years of practice and significant expertise to accurately guess the age of pottery by just looking at it. It is especially difficult to determine the age of very ancient pieces as they rarely have markings, unlike those made during and…