Daily Out of Stock, Not Out of Luck: Guidelines for Raw Material Substitutions

Few moments stop a potter cold quite like discovering that a trusted material is no longer available. Sadly, potters represent a fraction of a percent of the raw materials market, which means the fate of any given material is almost entirely out of our hands.

Check out the full post!

Daily Pushed Patterning: How to Create Lively Organic Texture Using a Simple Blunt Tool

On first glance at Matt Hiller's pots, you might assume that his signature floral decoration is done with stamps. But Matt methodically pushes the clay with a blunt tool to create each individual petal. This creates a lively, organic rhythm that would be hard to match with a stamp.

Check out the full post!

Daily Thumbtack Trick! A Great Way to Gauge Thickness When Trimming

Learning to trim pots can be a nerve-wracking endeavor. Trim too little, and your pots are heavy and clunky. Trim too much and you can cut right through a wall. And, for beginners especially, removing a pot from the wheel to check the thickness after you worked hard to get it centered for trimming in the first place is frustrating.

Check out the full post!

Daily Keep on Stirring! The Importance of Proper Mixing when Glazing Pottery

Glazes and glazing are finicky, to put it mildly. Every potter has opened the kiln to a kiln load of glazes that didn't turn out how they were supposed to. There are many things that can cause issues with glazes, but Susan McLeod suspected that one of the most common issues in the studio where she works as a technician was insufficient mixing. So she did a little experiment to show students the importance of good mixing.

Check out the full post!

Editors' Picks

The Premiere Organization for Ceramic Artists

The International Ceramic Artists Network (ICAN) gives you everything you need to become the best ceramic artist you can be!

Learn About ICAN

May 2026 Ceramics Monthly front cover — **May 2026** Issue

Current Issue Subscribe

The Best Instructional and Inspirational Clay Videos Online

CLAYflicks is the best place to see the masters in our field demonstrate their techniques and talk about important trends and developments in the ceramic field. Browse CLAYflicks

Pottery Making Illustrated May/June 2026 front cover — **May/June 2026** Issue

Current Issue Subscribe

Register for Be Rose's Workshop from Home webinar: "Patchwork Surfaces and Colored Clay!"

Daily Out of Stock, Not Out of Luck: Guidelines for Raw Material Substitutions

Daily Pushed Patterning: How to Create Lively Organic Texture Using a Simple Blunt Tool

Daily Thumbtack Trick! A Great Way to Gauge Thickness When Trimming

Daily Keep on Stirring! The Importance of Proper Mixing when Glazing Pottery

Editors' Picks

The Premiere Organization for Ceramic Artists

The Best Instructional and Inspirational Clay Videos Online

Best Sellers