| Discover the pleasures of working “off the wheel.” This classic guide, now back in print, provides ceramists at every skill level with comprehensive instruction and advice on working with clay without using a traditional potter’s wheel.
The first section of the book—“Basic Processes and Techniques”—covers the nature of clay and the tools of the trade. Readers will learn about mixing, preprocessing, firing, glazing, and treating clay surfaces. Comprehensive instruction covers form construction through:
- Extruding
- Hollowing out
- Pinching
- Forming coils and slabs
- Using molds
- Combining wheel thrown parts
Over 200 black-and-white photographs illustrate each step of the processes.
In the second part of the book, Woody profiles ten professional ceramists—including Susan Wechsler and Paula Winokur. Through their work, she explores ten distinctive approaches to handbuilding, and shows how the techniques can be varied and combined to create forms ranging from the utilitarian to the most expressive and sculptural. An appendix reveals the clay body and glaze recipes utilized by these artists. All ceramists looking to make expressions in clay that are distinctly their own will need this book |
