Everything you need to know to start making beautiful ceramics. Working with clay is a deeply satisfying creative hobby, but many would-be potters are put off because they don’t know how to get started. Pottery Basics shows the way. With instructive, clearly captioned, step-by-step photos on every page, it teaches everything they need to know to start making, decorating, and firing pottery. It also presents twelve simple projects that encourage beginning potters to put their new skills into practice. Expert potter Jacqui Atkin instructs on types of clay, and then describes basic modeling methods, such as throwing, pinching, coiling, and trimming. Finally, she discusses techniques for bisque and glaze firing, and finishing. Beginners learn to make vases, trays, tiles, and many other attractive objects. They also learn techniques for creating designs, color combinations, and textures. Separate sections instruct on clay preparation, using a potter’s wheel, and firing in the iln. Hundreds of instructive color photos. Hardcover with jacket measures 8 1/2 in. x 11 in., 128 pages. Barron's, 2005. ISBN 0764158422