The Techniques Used By a Ceramic Pottery Artist in UK

Posted by Mary Shawan on June 13th, 2016

Pottery is one of the most beautiful and playful forms of art. It allows the flexibility to create the finest pieces with meticulous detailing as well as more rustic designs that are boldly coloured and decorated to bring out the fun-loving person in every individual. The best pottery gallery would have a mixed collection of both these styles as well as a range of their own improvisations. So, what all goes into creating such amazing art?

The Types of Pottery

A ceramic pottery artist in UK is usually familiar with the basic kinds of pottery that include porcelain, earthenware and stoneware. While porcelain is the finest of all, earthenware is something most pottery artists enjoy working with more. Stoneware pottery is again a finer version that looks translucent when finished.

Creation techniques:
There are multiple techniques of pottery making irrespective of the kind of pottery that is being made. Here are a few highlights:

* Hand built pottery:
Moulding the clay into interesting forms with the use of hand pressures can create really versatile patterns. The techniques of hand-built pottery involve the following:

- Pinch Pot:
The clay is only shaped in useful ways so that small plates, bowls, cups and pots can be created. In short, it is used for making containers that can be decorated with colourful ceramic designs.

- Coil pot:
The clay is rolled into coils of random sizes. These coils are placed one on top of the other in the desired shape to create the desired forms.

- Slab pot
Here, the clay is rolled flat and this surface is used for cutting out different forms that can be put together like jigsaw pieces to create the final craft work or design piece.

* Wheel thrown pottery:
Though it might appear to be an easier alternative to hand-built pottery, the use of the potter’s wheel is subjective to how good the artist is familiar with its use and mechanism. It is not at all easy to control the wheel’s rotation and synchronize it with the way the clay must be shaped. However, with practice, this skill can very well be acquired and once that is done, it can sure speed things up.

A combination of all the techniques is also used by the pottery and ceramic artists in order to create experimental and unique figures and elements. A splash of colour and decoration helps in completing the works to perfection.

Author’s bio: The author is a blogger and talks about the different techniques used by a ceramic pottery artist in UK in this article.