Beginner Pottery: where to start
WANT TO TRY POTTERY BUT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A STUDIO?
here's my guide for keeping it simple…
Up and down the country pottery classes are selling out, studios have waiting lists, local schools and colleges are firing up their kilns once again…but then they all had to close because of social distancing😬🙈…, Despite that, it's safe to say pottery is back on the cool list! (it's still cool to say 'cool', right?) Many of you will want to try out a new hobby at home or looking for an activity to keep your hands busy and minds off tough things going on. Pottery is one of the most relaxing, mindful activities we can all do, the more clay I can get into the hands of people the better.
So, this might be the perfect opportunity to start out on your pottery journey (from the safety of your kitchen table).
I am almost totally self taught, I mostly learnt at home via books, google, YouTube and following other potters on social media. I did go to some beginner ‘classes’ but we weren’t really taught we were just mostly left to play with the clay ourselves.
People often think that pottery is an expensive hobby, well, it doesn't have to be. For those of you who aren't fortunate enough to have a local class, can't commit the money or the time or perhaps your physical or mental health means you'd struggle to be in a class scenario - or even - you know - a worldwide pandemic occurs and shuts down all the studios 🙈 🤷♀️ - you can still learn and improve your skills at home with just some clay and a few simple tools.
You garner so much just from handling the ceramic material itself, interacting with it, seeking out its foibles, getting used to the forces you need to apply, the marks you can make and the different phases the clay goes through. Just spending time handling clay is so valuable. You don't need a wheel or any fancy equipment for that. In fact, lots of wonderful potters make their living making beautiful pots, completely without a wheel, just with a few basic tools. There literally isn't anything you can't make by handbuilding. Some of my favourite potters hand-build. Here are just a couple of people I follow on instagram, their work is incredibly beautiful, I urge you to go and have a look for some inspiration.
Pip Wilcox, Instagram: @pipwilcoxceramics - Pip makes beautiful pots in all forms, with fluid carving and simple elegant white and blue glazing. She's also a wonderful human.
Emma Connolly, Instagram: @emmaconnolleydesigns - Emma creates gorgeous work using seed heads and pressed flowers to create patterns in the clay.
I learnt so much just from reading books all about pottery. When I was still working at my old job, any spare time I had I’d have my nose in a pottery book.
In fact, I was lucky enough to write my own pottery book last year! ‘Pottery for Beginners’ My book covers everything you need to get started with pottery. If you ever daydream about delving into pottery but aren't sure where to begin, this is your book. I’ll help you to overcome any doubts about your abilities. All you need are curiosity and a few simple tools to mold stunning stoneware with confidence. The book is full of inspiring projects and primers on equipment, technique, clay types and setting up a workspace make pottery approachable for complete newcomers, as well as budding potters who want to hone their skills.
Of course my book isn’t the only book out there, below is a link to some of the best Pottery Books for beginners I’ve come across: (just so you know the books I link to from this blog are affiliated which means I will earn a few pence from a sale) Click here: Pottery Books for beginners
You can start your own pottery Tool kit for under £12...
To be able to create everything from mugs, plates to planters I have a few tool recommendations which would make it super easy and fun, mostly likely you have a lot of it in your kitchen drawers already...
A wooden rolling pin (£2.50 - for rolling out the clay)
A needle tool £1.60 - use this to cut shapes and for scoring edges
Jute or Canvas 99p- so your clay doesn't stick to your table (or you can use newspaper)
A sponge 65p - for smoothing and shaping
A wire cutter £1.50 - for cutting through your clay
A pair of bamboo chopsticks £1.50 - I use these as thickness guides when rolling out your clay. Also the round ends can be used for sculpting, shaping, smoothing
A paint brush £1 - for adding slip (clay glue) to joins and smoothing off detail around handles etc...
1 kilo of clay £2 - well, you know...
All of this list can be found at any good pottery supplier (or on Amazon) Most pottery supply stores I know are still open for online orders.
Here are just a few great Pottery Suppliers:
Bath Potters, Bath, Somerset : http://www.bathpotters.co.uk/
Scarva, County Down, Northern Ireland: https://www.scarva.com/
Pot Clays, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire: https://potclays.co.uk/
Georgies, Portland Oregon, USA, https://www.georgies.com
Big Ceramic Store, https://bigceramicstore.com
Pottery Supply Shop Online, Brisbane, Australia https://www.potterysuppliesonline.com.au
I found these after a quick google. All are still taking online orders for collection or delivery at the time of writing this.
Try using everyday objects you already have in your house as moulds; bowls, cups, plant pots, spoons. Just use newspaper as a layer in between your mould and the clay so it doesn't stick.
I have created some beginner hand-building tutorials you can try at home with the above simple tools. Click on the images below to go have a go….
Made with the basic kit listed above.
Pottery is a huge subject - there is so much to learn, I thought it would be helpful for me to go over a few basics for those folks who are total beginners. I created this FREE intro video (above) to watch before you embark on a tutorial.
Although this really only scratches the surface - the best teacher is the clay itself…
For clay to turn into ceramics it will need to be fired - you can’t do this in your home oven - you need a kiln. But you can just use air dry clay when you are practicing, these pieces would be for decoration only and wouldn't be water tight but it gives you a really good feel of the materials. Then when you get more confident in your making you can start using clay which needs firing. Most pottery supply stores offer a firing service where you take them your clay and they will fire it in their kilns for you for a charge.
There really is little reason why you can start pottery at any time in your life, on any budget.
There are so many great resources out there. You might also want to think about joining my Pottery Club which is an online learning resource for folks who are nuts about all things pottery 😉 Click here to find out more.
With this kit and a few basic YouTube tutorials there will be no stopping you! Just google ‘hand building pottery’ I have also filmed some simple hand building tutorials with step by step instruction which anyone can try at home - they can be found here.
Let me know how you get on!
K x
