How to guides

kiln maintenance

Kiln Maintenance – 19 Tips on How to Look After Your Kiln

When I bought my kiln, I was so excited to use it, I didn’t think too much about kiln maintenance.  But kilns are like cars, they have parts that wear out and need replacing.  And the more you use them the more quickly they will need replacing.  Also, like a car, if you look after…
how to glaze pottery at home

How to Glaze Pottery at Home – With or Without a Kiln

If you are starting your pottery journey, you may be wondering just how to glaze pottery at home.  Is it possible?  What are your options?  You will be pleased to know that it is completely possible to glaze pottery at home.  This article is all about the different ways to glaze pottery both with and…
can you seal raku pottery

How to Seal Raku Pottery – Can Raku be Waterproof or Food safe?

Raku pottery can look lovely.  However, it is porous and fragile. The question of whether raku be waterproof has been debated for a long time.  And there has been much debate around can raku be food safe.  This article looks at these issues and considers if there are effective ways of how to seal raku…
copper matte raku

Copper Matte Raku – How to Make Copper Fuming Raku Pottery

Copper matte raku, also known as copper fuming raku is a low fire technique that can produce iridescent multi-colored pottery.  It involves the application of a simple copper oxide wash to bisque pots.  These are then raku fired and put into a post-firing reduction atmosphere to create a vivid array of rainbow colors. There are…
how to get rid of mold on clay

How to Get Rid of Mold on Clay – 7 Ways to Clean Moldy Clay

Finding that your pottery clay has gone moldy is very common.  Clay needs to be kept moist to stay workable and it contains organic matter.  These are perfect conditions for the growth of mold.  So, what can you do if you open up your bag of clay and it’s growing green and black mold?  Here…
how to use pyrometric cones

How to use Pyrometric Cones – Witness Cones Made Simple

Even if you use a kiln with an electric controller, it’s a good idea to use pyrometric cones when firing.  But there are different types of cones and these are used differently.  If you’ve just started firing your ware, you have probably wondered how to use pyrometric cones.  This article is all about how to…
smooth coil pots with a template

How to Make Smooth Coil Pots – With and Without a Template

When making smooth coil pots, the coiling method is used to construct the pot.  However, the coils themselves are smoothed away, rather than left as part of the decorative design of the pot.  You can make smooth coil pots either with a template or without.  This article will give you a step-by-step guide for each…
burnishing clay

Burnishing Clay – 3 Ways of Burnishing Pottery to Perfection

Burnishing clay is a technique that gives pottery a smooth soft sheen without using a ceramic glaze.  It involves rubbing the clay with a hard object, like a smooth pebble or the back of a spoon.  The rubbing action compresses down the surface particles of clay, aligning the clay platelets.  This creates a reflective surface….
sanding pottery

Sanding Pottery – How and When to Sand your Pots

If you are reading this article, you probably want to know how to smooth the surface of your pottery.  So, you may be surprised to hear that sanding pottery is actually a source of disagreement amongst some potters.  The reason for this is that when you sand pottery, you inevitably create clay dust, which contains…
easy coil pots

Easy Coil Pots – 3 Ways to Make Simple Coil Pots

This article is a step-by-step guide on how to make easy coil pots.  The basic coil pottery technique is versatile.  Once you have got the hang of coiling you use these skills to make all sorts of hand-built pottery.  However simple coil pots can in themselves look great, especially if they are well made.  So,…
how to make coil pots

How to Make Coil Pots – 5 Great Coil Pottery Techniques

Coil pottery is a great way to hand-build pots.  You can make lovely, strong pots with character and individuality using simple coiling methods.  This article is a step-by-step guide on how to make coil pots.  I will look at 5 different coil pottery techniques so you can experiment and decide which one you enjoy most. …
how to make slip for clay

How to Make Slip for Clay – 3 Ways to Make Perfect Clay Slip

This article is all about how to make slip for clay.  There are different kinds of slip, used for different purposes.  And there are some variations in how to make slip for clay depending on how you want to use it.  I will cover these differences and outline a step-by-step guide for making different kinds…