Everything, shelved

The pottery library

Every guide, tool and post on the site, sorted by what you are trying to do rather than by when it was written. Search it, or pick a shelf.

297 guides

The studio's member shelves seen end on, full of work at every stage of the process

On the wheel

Centering, pulling, trimming and everything that happens while it spins.

Avoiding Clay Twist Twisting on the Pottery WheelCombining Multiple Section to Create Big Pots on the Pottery WheelCompressing the Floor and Rim: Stop S-Cracks ColdFix a Pottery Bottom Thrown Too Thin: 4 Real RescuesFolding Rims Over on Big Bowls, Planters and Any Other VesselGetting a Pot Off the Pottery Wheel Without Wrecking It - Removing and Wiring PotsHanging Bat Planters - Halloween Pottery IdeasHow Dan Throws Giant Sectional PotsHow to Add Feet and Foot Rings to Bowls and PlattersHow to center clay on the pottery wheelPostHow to Collar In on the Pottery Wheel: A Full GuideHow to Pull Pottery HandlesHow to pull walls on the pottery wheelPostHow to Throw Gooseneck & Skinny Neck Pots on a WheelHow to Throw Off the Hump on the Pottery WheelHow to Throw On the Pottery WheelHow to Throw Plates on the Pottery WheelHow to Throw With Long FingernailsHow to Use a Kick WheelHow to: Turning and Trimming Pots on the Pottery WheelLidded Jars With a Gallery: Throwing the Jar and LidMaking and Using ChucksOpening Clay & Setting the Floor on the Pottery WheelPottery Throwing Proportions, Ratios & Wall ThicknessThe Wheel Practice PlanNewThrowing and Cutting Handles on the WheelThrowing Bigger Pots: How to Jump Up in Clay SizeThrowing BlindfoldedThrowing Double-Walled Pots: Two Methods, Step by StepThrowing Fully Enclosed Forms on the Pottery WheelThrowing Large Serving BowlsThrowing Lids That Fit: Galleries, Calipers and MethodThrowing on a Mini WheelThrowing Open & Closed Spheres: Steps, Tips & VideosThrowing Sharp ShouldersTo Bat or Not to Bat? A Wheel Throwing Decision GuideTrimming an Uneven RimTrimming Pottery While Throwing: The Complete GuideUsing Ribs on the Pottery Wheel: 6 Moves That WorkWhat to Check When Throwing Goes Wrong

Hand building

Slabs, coils, pinch pots, slab molds and the extruder.

Clay itself

Bodies, wedging, reclaim, colored clay and wild clay.

Drying and rescuing

The stage that ruins the most work, and what can be saved.

Surface and carving

Texture, carving, inlay, burnishing and everything done before the glaze.

Glaze and color

What glaze is, how to put it on, and how to find the one you want.

Firing

Kilns, cones, alternative firings and what comes out the other end.

Things to make

Projects, start to finish, with the sizes and the pitfalls.

20 Easy Projects Beginners Can Hand-BuildA Beginner's Guide to SculptingA Ceramic Chess SetButter Dishes With a Domed Lid: Fit, Shrinkage, TechniqueCeramic ChainsCeramic Ghosts - Halloween Pottery IdeasCeramic Instruments: Ocarinas, Whistles, Flutes and DrumsCeramic Spoons and LadlesCeramic Tiles That Stay Flat: Stop Warping and CracksCeramic Tombstones - Halloween Pottery IdeasCeramic Trick or Treating Candy Bowls - Halloween Pottery IdeasChip and Dip PlattersHalloween Candle Holders - Halloween Pottery IdeasHalloween Ships - Halloween Pottery IdeasHalloween Tree Stump Candle Holders - Halloween Pottery IdeasHanging Wall VasesHaunted House Lanterns - Halloween Pottery IdeasHow to Build a Teapot: Spout, Lid, Handle and AllHow to Make a Ceramic Lamp Base: Holes, Sizes, WiringHow to Make a Ceramic Urn with a LidHow to Make a Ceramic Wall Clock That Actually WorksHow to Make a Pottery Pitcher Spout That Actually PoursHow to Make Lidded Boxes and Treasure Boxes in ClayHow to Throw a Donut Vase on the Wheel, Step by StepHow to Throw a Moon JarHow to Throw a Tagine, Base and ConeHow to Throw Oil Bottles and Cruets on the WheelMaking Ceramic JewelryMaking Ceramic MosaicsMaking Figurines and CharactersMaking Planters Based on What You Are PlantingMaking Smokeware and Water VesselsMiniature PotteryMonster Mugs & Goblets - Halloween Pottery IdeasPlanters With an Attached Drip Tray: How to Throw OnePumpkin Face Bowls Jack-O-lantern - Halloween Pottery IdeasStopperless Salt ShakersTips & Tricks for Making Ceramic Kitchen Strainers & ColandersWitches Boots - Halloween Pottery Ideas

Tools and reference

Calculators, finders, charts, dictionaries and the tools that run in a browser.

How the studio works

Membership, classes, money, cleanup and the rules that bite.

Selling and showing

Pricing, photography, markets, galleries and packing.

The part nobody teaches

Comparison, burnout, patience, imposter syndrome and making friends.

50 Easy Ways Potters Mess Up Their Own PotteryA Thousand Potters, a Thousand WaysADHD, Hyperfocus, and Never Running OutAnyone can teach. Teaching well is a skill.Asking Your Instructor for HelpBe real, not perfectDo It Your Way, Nobody Else'sEverything in a Pottery Studio That Sounds WrongFunctional Pottery Is EngineeringGetting ahead of burnoutHolding the line without being the bad guyHow to Critique Your Own PotteryHow to Design Better PotteryKindness Is Not an InvitationPostLet Yourself Be Bad at Something AgainLiving With Your PotteryNewMaking Friends as an Adult Is BrutalOvercoming Imposter Syndrome as a Potter, an Artist and a HumanPersonality Types and the Pottery WheelPlease Don’t Drop By UnannouncedPostPottery & the 5 Love Languages: Find Your Fit (Quiz)Pottery by Zodiac Sign: The Perfect Hobby for All 12Pottery With ArthritisRunning Out of Shelf Space? Try These Pottery Storage TipsPostSaving Your Back at the WheelSetting Boundaries in a Shared StudioShit happens. Own it.Some of Everything That Can Go Wrong Running a Community Pottery StudioSometimes Pottery Needs a Plan, and Sometimes the Magic Is in Not Having OneTeaching is how you get good fasterThe 5 Stages of Clay Every Potter Should KnowPostThe Clay Hole Commandments, A Community That WorksPostThe Goodbye Problem Nobody Warned Me AboutPostThe Hardest Call I Have to MakePostThe Many Myths of Pottery & CeramicsThe Pottery Process: What to Expect Start to Finish at The Clay HolePostWhat to Say at the Pottery Table (When You Don’t Know Anyone Yet)PostWho Loves the Pottery Wheel, and Who Does NotWhy Pottery Fits All 16 Personality Types, HonestlyWhy Weekly Pottery Classes Beat One-Time Events, The Clay Hole, DraperPostYou Have More Time Than You Think

Pottery in the world

History, traditions, epicenters and the people who made it first.

Members and the studio itself

Featured members, the dog, the signature wall and the tour.

Nothing on the shelves matches that. Try one word instead of three, or clear the search and browse a shelf.

Three ways in

A list is one way to find something, and it is not the fastest one

The skill tree shows what you are ready to learn next. The question page answers the thing you actually wanted to know. The library is for browsing.