Ceramics Books and Magazines

The book starts out with a great history of ceramics throughout the world. Then materials and equipment are also covered including types of clay, clay mixtures and modeling tools. Hand-building techniques follow including pinch pots, coiling, hollowing out, slab-building and using clay strips. Using these techniques, you learn to make a box with a lid, a cylindrical pot, a cube-shaped box, a bowl and a vase.

Details on kilns and firing are next. This includes lots of helpful illustrations as well as advice on packing the kiln and measuring the temperature. Information is included on bonfire, pit, sawdust, wood, coal, oil, gas, electric and salt-glaze firing. Then glazing is covered including an overview of basic coloring oxides, other materials used in glazes, the Seger formula for glaze calculation, glaze preparation, and types of glazes. Several glazing methods are demonstrated including dipping, pouring, and using a brush or spray-gun.

A molding section follows with information on mold preparation, the drying process and creating waste and press molds. Projects include a hollow cast vase and a press mold plate. A great chapter on throwing is next. This includes basic techniques for making bowls, plates, cylinders, vases, and lids.

The final section offers complete step-by-step instructions for over 12 different projects. Some include a thrown teapot, an open vase with coils, an abstract sculpture with clay strips, a pinched bottle and a solid organic looking sculpture.

A helpful glossary and index are also included. Whether you are just starting out or have been creating ceramics for a while you will find much to enjoy and learn in this book.


Clear, Helpful, and Encouraging   March 15, 2001
 10 out of 12 found this review helpful

This is one of the most helpful pottery books I have seen. It clearly illustrates how to perpare and throw. I reccomend it to my students.


This is a great book to start off with!   July 6, 1999
 98 out of 104 found this review helpful

This book makes everything (in ceramics) seem possible for anyone. Photographs lead you through every kind of ceramic creation, from a simple pinch pot to making a teapot on a potter's wheel. There are even sections on the history of ceramics and making your own molds. Every page is filled with close-up color pictures... more than 700! This book helped to get me an A in my first college ceramics class (a rarity, I've been told). Thanks Mr. Chavarria!


Great details, a lot of pictures, best book out there   June 27, 1999
 11 out of 28 found this review helpful

my first pottery book, it is great, it has a lot of pictures and very detailed.


As an art teacher I highly recommend this Book.   April 26, 1998
 23 out of 31 found this review helpful

The Big Book of Ceramics is a fabulous photographic guide through the fundamentals of clay building.