Introduction to Pottery

Series Summary

People have been making pottery bowls, figures and other clay ware for centuries. Pottery vessels created to carry food or water date back as far as 10,000 BCE in Japan and North Africa, and were originally hand built and fired in bonfires. The potter's wheel was developed around 6,000 BCE in Mesopotamia and completely revolutionized pottery production. Made from sand, grit, crushed shell or other crushed vessels, pottery clay could be molded by adding water. Clay bowls, cups, plates and vases are then fired in a kiln to create a permanent change in the clay, increasing strength and hardness. In this free series of art lessons on video, an expert will show you how to paint pottery with enamel pottery glaze. Pottery glaze give a piece of pottery that shiny appearance and allows for an artist to express themselves with different colors and shades. Get step-by-step instructions for preparing your pottery for glazing, painting lines and blending colors of enamel glaze. Learn how to apply a layer of clear glaze, how to load a kiln and how to fire pottery. If you are interested in learning how to paint pottery with enamel glaze, here’s a great place to start!

Video Transcript

"Hi. I'm Jen from Clay Cafe and I'll be showing you how to take your ceramic piece from start to finish. In this clip we will be learning about how to paint on pottery. The first step for painting on pottery is picking your piece. I've got a couple pieces in front of me that are general pieces you can find in almost any paint your own store. We have everything from mugs, tiles that you can use in bathroom and kitchen. Very trendy pieces like shoes, and vases. These pieces are referred to with two different terms. They are called bisque but they're also referred to as earthenware pieces. Earthenware is one of the most common make ups; clay make ups that are found in paint your own studios and really ceramics around the world. In the next coming clips I'll be showing you how to take your raw pieces right to the finished product. I'll also be showing you different techniques on how to paint on pottery and how to do the firing process."