Oxford Clay

Following on from last week's episode of the podcast, where we made a stoneware glaze suitable for raw glazing, join me for this episode, where I apply the glaze to the mug!

Raw glazing is similar to glazing bisqueware pottery, but greater care needs to be taken not to over-wet the greenware, or it will disintegrate your beautiful pot!

I talk you through how I glaze my bone-dry mug - (mostly carefully and slowly!)

All these episodes can be viewed as videos in the ‘How to Make a Raw-Glazed Mug on th...

Join me for an exciting episode on the podcast this week, where I talk you through making a stoneware pottery glaze from start to finish!

If you’ve ever wondered how to make a pottery glaze suitable for raw glazing, this episode is for you! The glaze in this episode can be applied directly to greenware pottery and fired straight up to stoneware temperatures - a pottery technique known as ‘raw glazing’. This glaze can also be used as a regular stoneware pottery glaze and applied to bisqueware pottery before firing to stoneware glaze temperatures (1260oc). 

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In this episode, I tell you about an easy way to create a perfectly flat base (or rim!) for your pottery using just a tea towel, a flat surface and some water.

We also talk about maker’s marks in pottery and the importance of these in claiming your beautiful pottery and your creativity!

All these episodes can be viewed as videos in the ‘How to Make a Raw-Glazed Mug on the Potter’s Wheel’ YouTube playlist here.

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube

<...

Attaching a handle is a critical step in making a mug because if the handle cracks off when drying, it's very challenging (some might say impossible!) to re-attach. 

Join me for this episode, where I attach the handle we made in episode 102 to the mug. I'll talk you through just how to attach a mug handle without the dreaded cracking! 

All these episodes can be viewed as videos in the ‘How to Make a Raw-Glazed Mug on the Potter’s Wheel’ YouTube playlist here.

Watch the video version...

Turning (also known as trimming) the base of a pot involves turning the pot upside down on the pottery wheel and carving a foot with a turning tool (or tools!).

Turning / trimming is a great way to create a beautiful finish to the base of a pot. Join me for this episode where I turn the base of the mug and talk you through exactly how I’m doing it! 

All these episodes can be viewed as videos in the ‘How to Make a Raw-Glazed Mug on the Potter’s Wheel’ YouTube playlist...

If you’ve ever wondered how to ‘pull’ a handle in pottery, this episode is for you!

Welcome to the third episode of the How to Make a Raw-Glazed Mug on the Potter’s Wheel series, where we’ll be talking about how to ‘pull’ handles. 

I talk through the things I think about when pulling handles, and we’ll pull two handles live on this episode.  

✨ The importance of wedging (also known as kneading) the clay really well before pulling a handle. 

✨ How much clay to use for pulling a handle...

Welcome to the second episode of the How to Make a Raw-Glazed Mug on the Potter’s Wheel series!

In this episode, we’ll actually be making our mug on the Potter’s wheel!

I talk you through the different stages of making a pot on the potter’s wheel and the different speeds the wheel needs to go at for each stage.

We’ll also cover the importance of using water and anchoring your arms when making pottery on the potter’s wheel.

The stages of ma...

Welcome to the first episode of the How to Make a Raw-Glazed Mug on the Potter’s Wheel series! 

In this episode, I’ll talk you through the things I think about to prepare to make a pot on the electric potter’s wheel, such as: 

✨The size of pot to make.

✨The type of clay to use.

✨The importance of wedging (also known as kneading) the clay before making anything on the potter’s wheel.  

✨How much clay to use to make the pot.

✨Shaping the c...

To celebrate 100 episodes of the Oxford Clay Pottery Podcast, I’ve created a special series on making a raw-glazed mug, hand-thrown on the potter’s wheel!

Raw glazing is where a pot is fired in a glaze firing without being bisque-fired first.

Join me for 10 episodes in this series covering each part of the raw-glazed mug-making process:

✨ 1. How to Prepare to Make a Pot on the Potter's Wheel (Podcast episode 100).

✨ 2. How to Make a Mug on the Potter's Wheel (Podcast episode 101).

✨...

You might want to write on your pottery as part of the design, to create your maker's mark or to write a dedication to someone who will receive your pot as a gift.

However, I’ve always found writing letters and words in pottery really tricky!

In this episode, I tell you about 6 ways I’ve tried to write letters and words in pottery with varying success!

✔️Etching handwriting into clay at the leather hard stage using a pen or pencil.

✔️ Painting lettering with glaze or oxides.<...

Rutile is a form of Titanium ore with Iron deposits and is used in pottery to create brown, orange and yellow colours in pottery glazes. Rutile is also used to create beautiful speckled effects in glazes.

However,  there are some issues with the global Rutile mining industry, such as high energy consumption and the displacement of people from land, in order to mine Rutile.

If you didn’t want to use Rutile in your pottery, there are alternatives to using Rutile in glazes!  Plant ashes (particularly ash from fallen leaves), for exam...

Being inspired in pottery can happen anywhere, at any time!

In this episode, I talk about 5 surprising sources of inspiration for making pottery that I’ve experienced as a Potter: 

💡 - Archaeology books - depicting the shapes and surface decoration of ancient pottery.

💡 - Books for collectors of pottery -  (or glass!) about a specific pottery industry. 

💡 - Food packaging - which often has beautifully designed and functional shapes. 

💡 - Cookware - such as casserole dishes, saucepans and enamel pie dishes. 

💡 - C...

Making neat holes in pottery can be really tricky! 

In this episode, I talk about the importance of making holes in your pottery at the leather hard stage and tell you about my favourite way of making neat holes in pottery - with a drill bit! 

You can watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.

✨Support the Podcast

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Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBooks

⭐ Pottery Paperback Books available from Amazon

Free Pottery Guides:

🆓 Dow...

Imperfections are a natural part of pottery, and many of these only manifest after a pot has been either bisque or glaze fired.

But you don’t need to throw a pot away just because of a minor imperfection!

In this episode, I talk about four very common imperfections in fired pottery and simple ways to fix them: 

✔️Hairline cracks appearing in pieces of pottery after the bisque firing, in pieces of pottery that have been joined together

✔️A rough surface after a pot has been glaze-fired...

I’ve got very interested recently in making pottery glazes from things that would normally be thrown away. 

In this episode, I tell you about a stoneware pottery glaze that I’ve made from grape stalks collected over six months from bunches of grapes bought at the supermarket!

You can watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.

✨Support the Podcast

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Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBooks

⭐ Pottery Paperback Books available from Amazon

Free...

Some potters create coloured pottery by mixing oxides and stains into the clay itself before firing. A technique that uses this is called agate, where different coloured clays are combined in layers and mixed, to create a design. 

Recently, I’ve been wondering whether this would work with the home-made pigment verdigris created from recycled copper.

In this episode, I talk about some experiments I’ve done adding verdigris to clay at a ratio of 3% and 5% dry powdered verdigris to wet clay. 

You can watch the video versio...

In this mini episode of the podcast I tell you about a beautiful greeny-brown coloured stoneware pottery glaze I’ve made with ash recycled from incense sticks.

Rather than throwing the incense ash away after burning, it can be collected and recycled into a pottery glaze coloured only by the natural trace metals in the ash! 

The stoneware pottery glaze recipe used in this episode is: 

40 parts - Sieved Incense Ash (sieved with a 100 mesh size sieve) 

40 parts - Cornish Stone 

20 parts - Quartz 

<...

In a pottery class you might have a defined project to work on, but you can still experiment lots! 

In this episode, I talk about three ways to simply and easily experiment with surface decoration in a pottery class by;

✨ - Pressing an object into the surface of the clay

✨ - Making a bespoke tool to create a specific mark in your pottery, for example, fish scales! 

✨ - Leaving areas of your pottery un-glazed to create interesting colours and surfaces. 

The workshop that insp...

It's Spring in the UK, and this is an ideal time to identify deciduous trees that will drop their leaves in the Autumn. Or perhaps you live in the southern hemisphere, where deciduous trees are doing this right now!

Did you know that any plant material can be burned into ash and made into a pottery glaze! Leaves are no exception to this, and many beautiful pottery glazes can be made with leaves that fall naturally as part of a plant’s growing cycle. As Potters, we can collect these leaves, create ash from them an...

Doing pottery brings so much joy! Join me for this episode of the podcast where I talk about some mental re-frames that can support your joy as a Potter even more!

🌈 - The importance of enjoying making pottery in the present moment 

🌈 - Seeing ‘failure’ as an opportunity for learning 

🌈 - The importance of not judging your early work and instead celebrating the evolution of your pottery skills. 

🌈 - Allowing yourself to play and experiment in your pottery and how this can inspire your creativity. <...

Flat rolled out clay has a very annoying tendency to curl up as it dries! 

In this episode I talk about the three things I do in my pottery to make ‘perfectly’ flat (although nothing in pottery is ever perfect!) drinks coasters. 

✔️ Wedging (or kneading) the clay very well before making anything.

✔️ Rolling the clay out at an even thickness using rolling guides. 

✔️ The importance of gently compressing the wet clay as it dries.

You can watch the video version of this epi...

Yes you can! In fact they are an amazing way to add beautiful decorative details to pottery.

Silicone sugar craft moulds from cake making can be used by Potters who want to create intricate surface decorations for their pots. Clay is simply pressed into the mould, left to dry a little, removed from the mould and then attached to pottery as a sprig decoration.

I use silicone moulds in my pottery to make dragonfly, butterfly and bird decorations that I then attach onto my pottery with slip.  In this episode, I s...

For the last 200 years, industrial society has used a linear economic model that takes raw materials, makes them into products, sells them to consumers who then eventually throw them away. Natural resources are ‘lost’ in this process and this model is widely regarded as unsustainable. 

Contrastingly in the circular economic model, resources are continuously reused, recycled and retained in the supply chain.

In this episode, I talk about some opportunities for Potters to use the circular economy model and reuse materials in their work, such as; 

♻️ - Copper fro...

In this episode, I talk to you about the 6 different ways in which I use my favourite pottery tool - a cotton tea towel! 

💡 - To reclaim wet clay on. 

💡 - To wedge (or knead) clay on to remove excess water from clay thats a little bit too wet. 

💡 - As a rolling cloth when rolling out clay. 

💡 - Between pieces of wet flat clay as it’s drying. 

💡 - In a technique to make a perfectly flat rim or base of a pot. 

💡...

Some thoughts created by our brains, support us when making pottery, and some definitely less so! Join me for this episode where I talk about some thoughts I've had in pottery that haven’t supported my pottery such as ‘I’ll never be good at pottery’, ‘I’ll never be as good as them’ (in an evening class setting) and ‘I don't like my finished pot’!  

I talk about some alternative thoughts you can replace these with to truly support yourself in your pottery-making and make your mind a safer and kinder space to learn. 

Duration: 00:18:06

I created this episode for anyone who thinks they might like to write a book but hasn't yet - you can do it!

The world needs to hear your ideas and unique voice! 

In this episode, I talk about how I follow my curiosity to write books on pottery. I speak about how my ideas form, and how I experiment, research, write and format my books before publishing. 

You can watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.

✨Support the Podcast: https://www.oxfordclay.co.uk/supp...

Designing for the environment is a way of creating products where the minimum possible negative environmental impact on the environment is intrinsic to their design. 

In design for the environment, a product is thought of holistically, from the raw materials used to make it to its manufacturing process. 

Potters have a huge opportunity to design for the environment because we have direct control over how our pottery is made and the ingredients we make it with. 

In this episode, I explain the three different aspects I used to...

Clay can be infinitely recycled before it’s fired! This process is called ‘reclaiming’ and it involves turning clay that is either too dry or too wet, back into a usable state. 

In this episode, we talk about how to reclaim your own clay without any specialist equipment, in four very simple steps. 

*Scooping sloppy wet clay out of the reclaiming bucket onto a tea towel, inside away from wind and sun.

*Waiting a few days for the clay to dry out. 

* Wedging the clay on a...

I read a really interesting book recently on regenerative fashion and it really got me thinking about whether any of the concepts could be applied to the handmade pottery industry. In this episode, I explore author Safia Minney’s ideas in the book Regenerative Fashion: A Nature-based Approach to Fibres, Livelihoods and Leadership and think about ways we could use them as Potters. 

The ideas from Regenerative Fashion I think about are; 

*Thinking about pottery holistically, from where the materials have come from, who has mined them and where, how they have...

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year! ⭐In this episode, I tell you about my four New Year’s resolutions in pottery.  

*Talking to myself kindly about my pottery, especially when things go wrong - an inevitable part of the pottery-making process! Creating a kind, safe space in my own thoughts to make mistakes.

*Prioritise experimentation and playing in pottery.

*Creating a joy list of things I really enjoy doing in pottery (one of them is this podcast!) and only doing those things.  

*To stop...

Every person creating in clay is totally unique and therefore has a totally unique creative style in pottery! In this episode, I talk about the ways you can cultivate your own unique creative style in pottery, such as; 

*The importance of following your curiosity and joy in pottery.  

*How practising pottery techniques reduces the gap between what you want to make and what you can actually make, opening up new creative possibilities. 

*The importance of making ‘mistakes’ and things going ‘wrong’ in pottery for growing your skills. 

You can...

Refiring is firing pottery again after it has already been glaze-fired once. But why on earth would a Potter want to do that?!

In this episode we discuss what refiring is, and some reasons why a Potter may want to fire their work again. 

Potters may re-fire their work for example if their pot has been underfired in the first firing, which can sometimes happen if the kiln switches off accidentally during the firing cycle or if the kiln hasn’t reached a hot enough temperature. 

Another reason to refire pottery is i...

I learned the concept of a ‘Second Brain’ from the book: ‘Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organise Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential’ by Tiago Forte.

In this episode, I talk about what a second brain is, and why it’s so amazing for anyone with creative ideas (ie everyone!). 

I explain four reasons why having a second brain is particularly useful for Pottery makers. As well as what my own second brain looks like at Oxford Clay. 

You can watch the video version of this episode on Y...

Making your own casting slip can save money and be more environmentally friendly.

CO2 is saved from transporting powdered ingredients rather than the water present in ready-made casting slips. In addition, Potters can control exactly what ingredients they are using, sourcing ones mined in areas of high regulation.

Making casting slip is also really fun, especially when you see the magic of how a deflocculant works to make the clay runny!

You can find an eco-conscious casting slip recipe in the book: Eco-Friendly Pottery

I learned to make my own casting...

Having a perfectly flat base or rim on a pot adds a professional feel to handmade pottery.

In this episode, I tell you about an amazingly simple and easy technique to create perfectly flat bases or rims on your pottery. After having read about this pottery technique in a book, it is now something I use on every one of my pots!

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube

✨Support the Podcast

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Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBooks

⭐ Pottery Paperb...

Disappointment in pottery can happen when the pot in your mind's eye isn’t the same as the one that comes out of the kiln! That sinking feeling of disappointment can really hold us back as potters and can affect even the most experienced of Potters. 

In this episode, I talk about three mindset shifts that I use to deal with my own feelings of disappointment in pottery; 

1. That disappointment is a natural part of the creative process. 

2. That disappointment is a natural part of pottery-making so much out of our contr...

It's Autumn here in the UK and the leaves on the trees are starting to fall! But did you know that you can actually make a pottery glaze from fallen leaves?! 

Whilst wood ash is often quoted in glaze recipes, leaf ash can actually be used instead. In fact it is often the leaves of plants which have fallen naturally at the end of their growing cycle which create the most beautiful pottery glazes!  

In part two of this two-part episode series on making pottery glazes with fallen leaf ash we dis...

It's Autumn here in the UK and the leaves on the trees are starting to fall! But did you know that you can actually make a pottery glaze from fallen leaves?! 

Whilst wood ash is often quoted in glaze recipes, leaf ash can actually be used instead. In fact it is often the leaves of plants which have fallen naturally at the end of their growing cycle which create the most beautiful pottery glazes!  

In part one of this two-part episode series on making pottery glazes with fallen leaf ash we dis...

Clay shrinks at every stage of the pottery-making process. This can make creating the right size of pot quite tricky!

Another confusing thing is that different clays shrink by differing amounts up to around 25 per cent, from wet clay to finished pot. 

Join me for this episode, where I talk about a simple way to find out how much your specific type of clay will shrink by. I talk you through how I discovered that my clay at Oxford Clay shrinks by 15 per cent from leather-hard clay to final glaze-fired pottery. 

Wa...

Because the process of making pottery is so prone to technical ‘failures’ it can often feel like you're constantly doing pottery ‘wrong’! 

In this episode, we explore how giving yourself permission to get things ‘wrong’ in pottery as you learn and grow in your pottery-making skills and experience, opens up infinite creative opportunities for your work. 

I share some things I’ve changed in my own pottery recently and some tips for how to give yourself permission to grow in your pottery-making. Knowing that pottery isn't meant to be ‘perfect’ and choosing thoughts such as ‘I'm doing it right’ (e...

Colour in pottery is usually created with commercial metal oxides available as a raw material or as an ingredient in stains.

In a special bonus episode of this podcast series to celebrate the release of the book ‘Eco-conscious Pottery Colour: A guide to colouring ceramics with scrap metals, glass, plant ash and clay’,  we explore some things I've used in pottery to try to create colour that haven’t worked, including sugar molasses, kale stems, Chia seeds and fermented seaweed fertiliser!

*Eco-conscious Pottery Colour is available on the Oxford Clay website here.

*A paper c...

Colour in pottery is usually created with commercial metal oxides available as a raw material or as an ingredient in stains.

In the fifth of this special five-part podcast series to celebrate the release of the book ‘Eco-conscious Pottery Colour: A guide to colouring ceramics with scrap metals, glass, plant ash and clay’,  we explore how to create beautiful colours in pottery, using metal-rich clays.

*Eco-conscious Pottery Colour is available on the Oxford Clay website here.

*A paper copy of Eco-conscious Pottery Colour is available from Amazon here.

Watch the v...

Colour in pottery is usually created with commercial metal oxides available as a raw material or as an ingredient in stains.

In the fourth of this special five-part podcast series to celebrate the release of the book ‘Eco-conscious Pottery Colour: A guide to colouring ceramics with scrap metals, glass, plant ash and clay’,  we explore how to create beautiful colours in pottery, using the ashes of plants! 

*Eco-conscious Pottery Colour is available on the Oxford Clay website here.

*A paper copy of Eco-conscious Pottery Colour is available from Amazon here.

Wat...

Colour in pottery is usually created with commercial metal oxides available as a raw material or as an ingredient in stains.

In the third of this special five-part podcast series to celebrate the release of the book ‘Eco-conscious Pottery Colour: A guide to colouring ceramics with scrap metals, glass, plant ash and clay’,  we explore how to create beautiful decorative colours in pottery, using scrap glass. 

*Eco-conscious Pottery Colour is available on the Oxford Clay website here.

*A paper copy of Eco-conscious Pottery Colour is available from Amazon here.

Watch...

Colour in pottery is usually created with commercial metal oxides available as a raw material or as an ingredient in stains.

In the second of this five-part podcast series to celebrate the release of the book ‘Eco-conscious Pottery Colour: A guide to colouring ceramics with scrap metals, glass, plant ash and clay’,  we explore how to create beautiful glaze colours in pottery, using scrap copper and iron.

*Eco-conscious Pottery Colour is available on the Oxford Clay website here

*A paper copy of Eco-conscious Pottery Colour is available from Amazon here.

Wa...

Colour in pottery is usually created with commercial metal oxides available as a raw material or as an ingredient in stains.

In the first of this five-part podcast series to celebrate the release of the book ‘Eco-conscious Pottery Colour: A guide to colouring ceramics with scrap metals, glass, plant ash and clay’,  we explore what Eco-conscious pottery colour is and why it’s great for Potters, and the Earth. 

*Eco-conscious Pottery Colour is available on the Oxford Clay website here

*A paper copy of Eco-conscious Pottery Colour is available from Amazon here.

So many pottery projects involve joining clay together and it’s not unusual for clay to crack apart after it's been joined. 

Join me for this episode where I talk about my 5 simple steps for joining clay together to stop clay from cracking apart! 

*Join clay that is the same level of dryness, you can encourage this by keeping clay in a damp box. 

*Use vinegar to ‘melt’ the joining surface of the clay. 

*Score the surface of the areas to be joined. 

*Use slip on the joint (and superpower...

Thank you for your listener questions! This is the first listener question episode, and we're talking about about crazing and pinholing in pottery glazes. The listener questions in this episode are:

Is it a defect of the glaze to have pinholes or hairline cracks after firing?

Are these fired glazes permeable and will food residues settle in them over time, especially if you only wash them by hand?

Can crazed and pinholed pottery go in the dishwasher?

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube

Experimenting with making pottery glazes is one of my absolute favourite things to do.

In this episode, I tell you how I make my glaze tests at Oxford Clay, and how you can do the same!

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube

✨Support the Podcast

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Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBooks

⭐ Pottery Paperback Books available from Amazon

Free Pottery Guides:

🆓 Download the Free How to Make a Pottery Glaze Workbook (suitable for beginners...

In this episode, I talk about 5 simple things you can do to recycle resources in pottery!

The 5 things I talk about today are:

*Collecting Rainwater to use in pottery

*Reclaiming used clay back into new clay

*Turning scrap metal into colouring oxides

*Making pottery glazes from plant ashes

*Using glass in pottery to add colour and decorative detail

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube

✨Support the Podcast

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Resources for Potters:

A mini episode today to let you know that I’d love to answer your pottery question on the podcast! Just email your pottery question to: info@oxfordclay.co.uk

Put ‘Podcast Question’ in the subject line of your email so I know that you are happy for your question to be read out and answered on the podcast. 

I can't wait to hear from you!  

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube

✨Support the Podcast

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Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBook...

Did you know that you can actually make your own green pottery colourant called Verdigris?

Verdigris is an ancient pigment that has been used for thousands of years, and you can make it yourself by recycling scrap copper! 

In this episode I share 3 beautiful pottery glazes I've made using Verdigris. Green Stoneware / high-fire recipes below: 

Learn how to fire these stoneware glazes in an electric kiln in this free workbook.

Recipe 1: 

Cornish Stone - 50

Quartz - 25

Whiting - 15

Dolomite - 1...

You may have heard the word ‘Verdigris’ used to describe a blue-green colour, or you may have seen it on brass statues or the roofs of buildings. 

Verdigris is also a pigment that has been used by artisans for thousands of years. But did you know that Potters can actually make their own Verdigris to use in their ceramics?! Making your own verdigris is a great way to avoid using commercial metal oxides, one of the least environmentally friendly pottery ingredients. 

In this episode, I tell you about how I make my own...

Leather hard clay is when the clay has dried a little but is still wet enough to work with.

Clay is very versatile at the leather-hard stage, stronger, and less prone to breakage like bone dry pottery (also known as ‘greenware’). 

In this episode, I explain what leather-hard clay is and all the amazing things that can be created with leather-hard clay! From building slab pots, etching decoration and slip trailing, to turning the base of wheel-thrown pots and more!

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube

Any Potter can make their own totally unique pottery glaze! Making your own signature pottery glaze is a great way of creating a unique aesthetic for your ceramics. 

You may think that making your own glaze is difficult but it's not! If you can follow any kind of recipe, you can make a pottery glaze. 

In this episode, I talk about 3 ways to make a totally unique pottery glaze: 

*Tweak the base ingredients of an existing glaze recipe. 

*Add different colouring oxides to a base glaze.

...

After years of practising pottery, I’ve distilled the absolute one thing every Potter needs to know: be kind to yourself!

Although being kind to yourself doesn’t seem like it has anything to do with making pottery! Self-kindness is actually something that superpowers your pottery learning journey and helps you cultivate a growth mindset.

Being kind to yourself is an absolute must for learning any new thing that requires a lot of patience and making ‘mistakes’ along the way - like pottery!

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube<...

Using moulds in pottery is amazing! Moulds allow Potters to make the same shape consistently over and over again, create sets of pots, and save time and energy in their making process.

Moulds can be used to make the main body of the pot or for creating decoration. 

In this episode I talk about the 5 types of moulds available to Potters and how each one is used: 

*Press mould

*Hump mould 

*Slip-casting mould 

*Sprig mould (plaster of Paris) 

*Sprig mould (silicone)

Watch...

Pottery is a very safe activity but there are certain times when Potters need to protect their lungs from fine powders. That’s where FFP3 face masks come in!

In this episode, I talk about what an FFP3 face mask is, how it works, and four scenarios when a Potter would need one:

*When making pottery glazes or clay.

*When sieving plant ashes. 

*When scraping dry clay.

*When applying glaze to pottery by spraying.

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube

Did you know that clay is actually made from lots of different materials such as crushed rocks, ball clays and china clay? 

Making your own clay can be a great option for Potters who want to know exactly what ingredients are going into their clay to minimise the environmental impact of their pottery. Making clay yourself can be cheaper than buying it commercially and you can save the time, effort and CO2 emissions of haulage to get (heavy!) wet clay to you.  

In this episode, I talk you through the ingredients and process I use to...

There is some incredible equipment out there that is not necessarily made for the handmade pottery industry, but Potters can use it for amazing results!

In this 2 part episode series I’ll tell you about 16 of my favourite pieces of non-pottery equipment that I regularly use to make my pottery.

There's actually so much great equipment out there that I had to split this topic into two parts!

In part 2 I tell you about how I use these things in pottery: 

*Silicone spatula

*Gardening Scoop 

*Stone Pestle and...

There is some incredible equipment out there that is not necessarily made for the handmade pottery industry, but Potters can use it for amazing results! In this two-part episode series I’ll tell you about 16 of my favourite pieces of non-pottery equipment that I regularly use to make my pottery.

There's actually so much great equipment out there that I had to split this topic into two parts!

In Part 1 I tell you about how I use these things in pottery:

*Cellulose Decorators Sponge

*Microfibre Cleaning Cloth

*Plasterer’s Buck...

Did you know that vinegar has several uses in pottery?

In this episode, we explore three excellent ways Potters can use vinegar in their work, from helping to stick clay together, to thickening slips and even as an ingredient in making homemade pottery colouring oxides!

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube

✨Support the Podcast

-------------------------------

Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBooks

⭐ Pottery Paperback Books available from Amazon

Free Pottery Guides:

🆓 Download the Free...

Slip casting is a fantastic way of making pottery. It allows Potters to make the same shape of pot over and over again, saving time and effort. Slip casting also allows Potters to make sets of items and standardise their making process to ensure they can consistently replicate the quality of their pots.

At Oxford Clay, I've been slip casting for a number of years now and have experienced a lot ups and downs with learning the process! In this episode, I talk about the 10 best slip-casting tips I’ve learned over the years, from making your ow...

Plaster moulds are a great resource for Potters. Moulds can be used in pottery to press clay into (a press mould), smooth clay over (a hump mould), or pour liquid clay into (a slip casting mould).

Plaster moulds allow Potters to make lots of the same shapes of pots simply and accurately. At Oxford Clay, I use a one-part plaster mould for slip-casting my work. In this episode, I talk through the step-by-step process of how I make my plaster moulds, by casting the profile of an enamel pie dish into plaster of Paris. You’ll hear ho...

What are clay bodies made from and do you need to make your own as a Potter?

Have you ever heard the term ‘clay body’ and been curious about what it means? Well, the ‘clay body’ and clay are the same thing! In this episode, we investigate what clay or clay bodies are made from, how they’re made and three reasons why a Potter may choose to make their own.

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If you've ever felt blocked creatively in pottery or like nothing you’re making is any ‘good’ (who hasn’t?) this episode is for you! We discuss five tips for getting your creative flow back and generating original ideas in pottery. Some of them are just about getting out of our own way and not believing the thoughts our brains like to generate about our pottery practice.

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There are many simple pottery material swaps Potters can do to make their pottery practice more eco-friendly. In this episode, we explore some easy pottery materials to switch from less eco-friendly to more environmentally friendly ones. 

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Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBooks

⭐ Pottery Paperback Books available from Amazon

Free Pottery Guides:

🆓 Download the Free How to Make a Pottery Glaze Workbook (suitable for beginners...

In this episode, I speak to Emily Marston from Emily Marston Ceramics. Emily runs pottery workshops in Oxford for beginners, and handbuilds pottery and ceramic jewellery from her Oxford-based studio. 

Join us for this conversation about the highs and lows of making pottery! Emily tells us about her own creativity, the joy she gets from seeing other people make and fire their pottery at her workshops, and the things she does to prioritise and nourish her own creativity. I hope it inspires you to prioritise and nourish your own creativity too.

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Earthenware and stoneware are terms used in pottery to describe different clays and glazes. You may have wondered what the difference is between earthenware and stoneware in pottery.

In this episode, we discuss the difference between earthenware and stoneware pottery and the temperatures in Celsius and Fahrenheit that classify each category.

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In this episode, we discuss three excellent pottery books and how they have inspired both my pottery and my creativity in general. The books cover paper clay, natural glaze making and slip casting. Perhaps they will inspire you too! 

The Books talked about in this episode are: 

The Essential Guide to Mold Making & Slip Casting, by Andrew Martin, 2007, Lark Ceramics Books

Natural Glazes: collecting and making, by Miranda Forrest, 2018, New Ceramics

Paperclay: Art and Practice, by Rosette Gault, 2018, New Ceramics

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There is nothing more annoying than finding out that one of your beautifully made pots is starting to crack as it dries, or that the handle is starting to crack off your beautifully made mug.

In this episode, we explore why cracking in pottery happens and how to stop it. I go through the top tips I’ve learned to stop cracking in hand-built pots, pots that are thrown on the wheel, and pots that are slip-cast (which are notoriously prone to cracking!)

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Have you ever wondered how a pottery kiln actually fires pottery?

How does a kiln know how much to heat when, and for how long?

Well in this episode we discuss what a pottery kiln firing schedule is and the key terms used to describe the different stages of kiln heating and cooling.

We also go through an example of what a kiln firing schedule looks like for a bisque and stoneware glaze firing.

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Ruth Harris runs two creative businesses, Catkin Tree Studio, and Field and Fabric.

Ruth and I first met as fellow vendors at the Didcot Craft Fair in 2021 when we were serendipitously placed on stalls next to one another.  

Since then, I’ve followed Ruth’s work and have been so inspired by her approach to cultivating such a diverse and abundant creative practice.

Join us for this episode of the podcast where I ask Ruth all about how her own creativity works in her businesses. Ruth explains what inspires her and some tips for l...

Did you know that Potters can use equipment originally designed for bakers?

There are so many amazing pieces of equipment that bakers use for baking, cake decorating and sugarcraft that Potters can use too! Cake fondant has nearly the same consistency as clay and can be pressed, moulded and shaped in nearly the same way.

In this episode, we explore some of the best baking and sugarcraft equipment that Potters can use in their practice.

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There are many things Potters can do to switch their tools from less eco-friendly to more environmentally friendly ones. In this episode, we explore some easy swaps Potters can make, from paint brushes, and eliminating chamois leather from their practice to the ever-useful sponge.

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Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBooks

⭐ Pottery Paperback Books available from Amazon

Free Pottery Guides:

🆓 Download the Free How to Make a...

Pottery can be safely packaged and sent in the post without the use of bubblewrap. This allows the receiver to recycle all of the packaging easily and if it is disposed of in landfill, paper and cardboard packaging will fully biodegrade. In this episode, we explore the method I use at Oxford Clay to safely package work for sending in the post without the use of plastic bubble wrap or plastic tape. Find out how to package pottery using one hundred per cent paper and cardboard packaging which is sealed with paper tape and vegetable starch glue.

<...

It can feel overwhelming trying to understand if the pottery materials you use have a negative impact on humans, animals or the environment. In this episode we explore a simple framework you can apply to any pottery material to better understand its environmental and social impact. 

Read a more detailed explanation of this framework in this book: https://www.oxfordclay.co.uk/shop/p/eco-consciouspotteryglazingebook

Find out the energy mix of a country or region using this report: https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html

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Glaze recipes may seem complicated to read but they are actually very simple. In this episode, we explore the principles of a glaze recipe and how to read them, how to weigh out the ingredients, including any colouring oxides and how much water to add when making a glaze. We also explain what to do if you accidentally add too much water to your glaze.

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‘Pulling’ a handle may seem like a very difficult thing to do in pottery, but it is actually very achievable. Pulled handles look amazing and can really elevate the beauty of a pot. In this episode we explore what pulling a handle actually means, how handles are pulled in pottery, and five of the most helpful things I’ve learned for fantastic pulled handles.

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Rolling out clay is a brilliant skill in pottery, you can use the slab to build a slab pot, or push clay into a plaster press mould to make a bowl or plate. In this episode we explore three tips to help you roll out clay to ensure a smooth bump-free, crack-free clay slab.

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Commercial metal oxides used by Potters to colour their work are some of the most environmentally harmful pottery materials. However, Potters can circumvent these supply chains by making their own metal oxides from recycled metal! In this episode, we explore the process of making Iron Oxide (rust) and Copper Oxide (verdigris) from scrap metal and how Potters can use these homemade colourants in their work.  

The course mentioned in this episode: https://www.oxfordclay.co.uk/shop/p/make-your-own-metal-oxides-from-recycled-metal-mini-course

The book mentioned in this episode: https://www.oxfordclay.co.uk/shop/p...

An amazing way for Potters to create consistent shapes in their work. 

Slip casting is a fantastic resource for Potters who want to create the same shape of pot, multiple times. In this episode, we explore what slip-casting is, how slip-casting moulds work, and where to look if you want to learn more about this amazing pottery practice. 

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Ever had one of those times where every pot you try and make goes wrong?! Here’s what to do next. 

Making pottery involves a lot of trial and error, testing and ‘failing’ and there are times when it feels like everything you're trying to make is going wrong! Whilst it may feel disappointing, these are actually the times when you are learning and growing your skills the most. You are at your growth edge pushing the boundaries of your skills and experience with clay. But what can you do with your pot when it doesn't...

There are so many amazing sources of pottery glaze recipes out there for Potters, but how do Potters actually find pottery glaze recipes? In this episode, we explore seven fantastic ways for Potters to find pottery glaze recipes. 

17 simple glaze recipes are detailed in this book by Oxford Clay: https://www.oxfordclay.co.uk/shop/p/eco-consciouspotteryglazingebook

The glaze recipe website mentioned in this episode is: https://glazy.org/

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Any plant can be turned into ash that can make a pottery glaze! 

In this episode, you can hear about some of the weirdest plant-based things I’ve turned into a pottery glaze from banana skins to tea bags and pond algae! All of these plant ash glazes are in the book ‘Pottery Glazing with Plant Ash’ by Oxford Clay: https://www.oxfordclay.co.uk/shop/ebooks

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Agromining is the practice of using plants to mine metals from the soil. In this episode we explore what agromining is, and how it could be used in the future to create eco-conscious colour in pottery. As plants grow they take up metals in the soil, and store them in their tissues. Scientists can extract these metals by harvesting the plants, drying and burning them and extracting the metals. The hyperaccumulator plants used in agromining can also be used to decontaminate polluted soil.  

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You can make a glaze from any plant ash! hear about 5 beautiful ones. 

Every plant ash glaze is completely unique because of the unique mineral and trace metal composition of the ash. In this episode, you can find out about 5 of the most beautiful glazes in the book ‘Pottery Glazing with Plant Ash’ by Oxford Clay: https://www.oxfordclay.co.uk/shop/ebooks

From purples and browns to light pink, blue and white, plant ash glazes can naturally produce many beautiful colours in pottery. 

The Glaze Recipe used in this episode is: Duration: 00:00:00

Mixing glass and ceramics can have amazing results. 

In this episode, we discuss some ways to mix glass and ceramics together for beautiful decorative effects in pots. 

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Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBooks

⭐ Pottery Paperback Books available from Amazon

Free Pottery Guides:

🆓 Download the Free How to Make a Pottery Glaze Workbook (suitable for beginners):

🆓 Download the Free How to programme a...

In this episode, we talk about three barriers Potters face when seeking to make their pottery practice more eco-conscious.

We discuss some great sources of information for Potters and what actions Potters can take. 

The pottery materials website mentioned in this episode is: https://digitalfire.com/

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Resources for Potters:

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Free Pottery...

Warping is at the top of the most annoying things that can happen to pottery! Often only appearing at the final stage of the making process, at the glaze firing stage!

In this episode, we explore what warping is, why it happens and five top tips to prevent warping in your pots.

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Resources for Potters:

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Free Potter...

In pottery there are a few key hazards that it is important to protect yourself against when working with clay and glaze materials. In this episode we explore the hazards in pottery and how Potters can mitigate these hazards using some simple practices and easily available safety equipment. 

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Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBooks

⭐ Pottery Paperback Books available from Amazon

Free Pottery Guides:

🆓 Download t...

Have you ever wondered how pottery glazes are made? 

In this episode, we go through the process of making a glaze and how to read a glaze recipe. We talk about the importance of wearing an FFP3 face mask when working with powders in pottery, how to store your glaze to prevent it from drying out and what to do if you add too much water to the recipe.

If you’ve never made a glaze before, it's very simple and you can do it!

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In this episode we explore the benefits of raw glazing, and some top raw glazing tips. Raw glazing is the practice of glazing a pot before it has been bisque fired, at the greenware or leatherhard stage.

Many Potters don't practice this technique because it can be tricky. However, with the right clay and glazes, this technique can save Potters the time, energy and money involved in the bisque firing. 

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Supermarket pottery equipment best buys.

Did you know that many household items for cooking, cleaning and baking can be used for Pottery making! In this episode we explore some of my favourite items easily available from supermarkets that can be used by Potters. Non-specialist equipment Is often cheaper and easier to source than specialist pottery equipment. Of course sometimes specialist equipment is needed but there is also great equipment available from the supermarket!

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Pottery is usually coloured with metal oxides but these are some of the most environmentally harmful pottery materials. In this episode, we explore some environmental and social issues with metal oxides.

We then talk about 3 ways Potters can colour their work in more environmentally conscious ways. 

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Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBooks

⭐ Pottery Paperback Books available from Amazon

Free Pottery Guides:

🆓 Download t...

Five top tips for avoiding the most common disasters involving plaster in pottery

Plaster of Paris is such a helpful material for Potters, because it sucks the water out of clay (in a good way). Potters use a Plaster slab for reclaiming wet clay and for mould making. In a plaster mould clay shrinks allowing it to be released from the mould. Moulds can be press moulds, hump moulds or slip casting moulds. But Plaster can also be tricky to work with. In this episode we explore five plaster disasters to avoid when working with plaster (all...

Have you ever wondered whether clay is recyclable? Well the answer is both yes and no!

In this episode we explore how clay can be recycled and how potters do this in a process called ‘reclaiming’. Learn about some tips for reclaiming clay as well as at what point clay can no longer be reclaimed and it has to be repurposed instead. 

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Blue in ceramics is made from Cobalt Carbonate and Cobalt Oxide mined mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. An estimated 20-30% of Cobalt is mined by artisanal miners. In this episode we talk about some issues in the Cobalt supply chain that have been researched and documented by the human rights organisation Amnesty International. We talk about some alternative ways to create colour in ceramics. 

The report from Amnesty International mentioned in this episode is called ‘This is What we Die for’: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr62/3183/2016/en/

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What damp-boxes are, why they’re great, and how to make your own!  

Damp-boxes allow Potters to prevent their work from drying out so they can work on it later. They can also help to even out the dryness of pots and prevent cracking. In this episode we talk about damp-boxes, why they are great and how to make your own very easily and cheaply from a plastic storage box.

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Pottery cultivates patience, persistence, resilience and learning to accept imperfection. 

 In this episode, we explore how by practising pottery you can also cultivate these four special characteristics.  

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Resources for Potters:

⭐ Pottery eBooks

⭐ Pottery Paperback Books available from Amazon

Free Pottery Guides:

🆓 Download the Free How to Make a Pottery Glaze Workbook (suitable for beginners):

🆓 Download the Free How to programme an...