Guides
A guide to colored trailing slip for fine-line canvas work on bowlsCeramic artist Amelia Johannsen has built her practice around line and pigment on curved clay. Her recent explorations push beyond traditional glazing into…
The Quiet Power of Off-Center Throwing: Breaking the Perfect CircleA perfectly centred vessel can be satisfying to make, yet symmetry is only one way to create balance. Off-center throwing introduces a measured disturbance: a…
Shared plates for tapas that fit together beautifullyAustralian dining culture has embraced shared plates with remarkable enthusiasm, particularly in coastal cities like Sydney and Melbourne where the outdoor…
a tiny clay bathtub for a whimsical fairy gardenFairy gardens have a quietly devoted following across Australia, popping up in courtyards from Perth to Hobart, on verandahs in suburban Adelaide, and beside…
From shipyard riggery to pinched ceramic formThere is a particular noise that lives inside any shipyard at dawn: a clatter of hemp against iron, the slop of wake along timber. For ceramicist Amelia…
A Potter's Day From Early Morning Throwing to Evening Kiln LoadingThe studio stirs before the sun crests the eucalyptus line, and the first sounds are familiar to anyone who works with clay: the scrape of a wire tool, the…
Getting Aqua Glaze to Settle Smoothly Without Brush MarksAqua glaze can produce a beautiful watery surface, from pale sea glass to a deeper blue-green reminiscent of the Mediterranean. The colour is especially…
Mug Shots on the coffee bar: a café exhibition storyThe first time I heard the phrase "mug shot" used for something other than a police record, I was sitting in a Barcelona café watching a barista pour a perfect…
Spiral bowl patterns with a cookie cutterA simple cookie cutter can turn the inside of a handmade bowl into a lively, repeating surface. Instead of treating the cutter as a one-off stamp, use it to…
The Case for Using a Shape-Forming Balloon Even on a Wheel ChucksA potter’s wheel is usually associated with direct control: clay centred, walls pulled upwards, and the final profile shaped by hand. Yet some of the most…