Introducing Pottery - by Dan Rhode (Paperback)

About the Book

Introducing Pottery surpasses ordinary beginner guides. This comprehensive book contains 200 full-color illustrations and provides all the information a beginner needs to start creating with clay. It also addresses more advanced issues of clay-making in a in an accessible style.

Book Synopsis

In Introducing Pottery, international potter and teacher Dan Rhode shares more than twenty years of experience in a well-organized, fully illustrated volume. Rhode's comprehensive overview of the methods, techniques, equipment, and theory allows novice and more advanced clay artists to solve problems as they develop and to keep improving.

Introducing Pottery begins with a brief history of world ceramics and a practical discussion of the fundamentals of clay chemistry and composition. The guide quickly moves into step-by-step instructions for working in clay. It covers throwing and handbuilding methods, and even shows how to set up a clay studio. Introducing Pottery includes an in-depth look at glaze making, formulation, and application that goes beyond mainstream glazes and allows artists to express their own aesthetic. Readers will learn about the differences between firing techniques, and how to use them in variety of kilns. Each method is illustrated with full color photographs of professional ceramicists at work in their studios. Easy-to-read tables and charts also complement the clearly written instructions.

With 200 color illustrations and inspiring writing from a master ceramicist, Introducing Pottery belongs in every new clay worker's library. As potters gain experience, this guide will continue to be a valuable source of information, giving them the tools to evaluate and learn from their experience.

About the Author

Dan Rhode has taught ceramics since 1991. He has helped create and develop several pottery programs at schools, community centers, and universities. He was the director of an Associate of Arts degree program in sculpture and pottery at Central Carolina Community College in North Carolina. For ten years he ran his own successful pottery business, Pittsboro Pottery, in North Carolina. He now lives and works in England.