In recent years, I’ve been hearing of more and more people getting into pottery, simply as a hobby or as a potential new career path. A mindful craft, that often those who get into it, find they fall utterly in love with it.
If you fancy giving it a go, reading up a little on the processes, tools and techniques involved is a great place to start, and this book by Kara Leigh Ford shares all the basic information for a beginner, alongside a series of projects that progress as your skills do.
In the first section, Kara demystifies a lot of the jargon involved and explains which tools are essential for getting started and what can come later if you decide to take your education further.
The easiest place to start in hand-building, and after explaining the basic techniques, Kara shares five projects for you to try, from a hanging planter to cute mini spoons.
After mastering the hand-building projects, you may want to step things up to the next level, and try throwing on a wheel – either by investing in your own and perhaps at a ceramics studio. Throwing can seem scary, but I love how Kara described the process of mastering it….
“I often compare learning to throw on the wheel to learning to drive a car – at first there seems to be so many things you need to remember. Eventually though, like driving, throwing will start to feel more natural and muscle memory will take over. You’ll be able to listen to music, an audiobook or even have a conversation while you throw.”
There are another five projects to try your hand at such as a bud vase and a soup bowl. In the second half of the book Kara goes into detail about the various finishing techniques you can experiment with, including glazing and sgraffito, before finally explaining the firing process.
The book really is an all-rounder for getting started with making your own ceramics, and the projects are ones you will definitely want to try! Imagine filling your home with your own little creations and having special handmade pieces to gift your friends and family!
The book publishes on the 16th November (perhaps a perfect Christmas gift for any budding potters you know!) and is already available for pre-order – ORDER A COPY NOW.
Look out for an interview with Kara in our next e-zine, publishing in November. The e-zine is exclusive and free to our mailing list subscribers, so sign up here to receive it.
