{"id":64487,"date":"2022-07-27T12:18:57","date_gmt":"2022-07-27T12:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/?p=64487"},"modified":"2022-07-27T12:18:57","modified_gmt":"2022-07-27T12:18:57","slug":"what-every-beginner-needs-to-know-about-handbuilding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/blog\/what-every-beginner-needs-to-know-about-handbuilding\/","title":{"rendered":"What Every Beginner Needs to Know About Handbuilding"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PSHQxlbMNpE?autoplay=1&#038;mute=1\"><\/iframe>CERAMIC ART: What Every Beginner Needs to Know About Handbuilding is the blog of an artist and maker of pots, not a pottery teacher.<\/p>\n<p>I am happy to answer questions about forming, glazing, and firing, but my best advice is this: take a class in handbuilding.<\/p>\n<p>There are many places you can go to learn. Do some research and find a school or studio near you that teaches handbuilding. I have listed some resources below.<\/p>\n<p>To get the most out of an introductory handbuilding class, be sure to read the four posts below first. They are not intended to be complete instructions on how to make pots; they offer some of my personal observations about the process.<\/p>\n<p>Being a ceramic artist is more than just being skilled at making art out of clay. It&#8217;s about being skilled at the entire process of creating sculptures from the ground up. It&#8217;s about having a hand in every step, from selecting and mixing clay to choosing glazes and firing methods.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m going to focus on handbuilding, as that&#8217;s where most new potters begin their journey in the ceramics world. Handbuilding refers to any technique where you&#8217;re working with your hands to sculpt your piece&#8211;as opposed to forming it on a potter&#8217;s wheel&#8211;although some techniques, like slab building, span both categories.<\/p>\n<p>TIP<\/p>\n<p>Handbuilding is a term that refers to the process of making pots on the potter&#8217;s wheel. In handbuilding, you usually start with a lump of clay and shape it into a pot by hand. In throwing, you start with a lump of clay and shape it into a pot on the potter&#8217;s wheel. Both techniques are valid ways to make pots and both have their benefits and drawbacks. The main difference between the two is that in handbuilding, you work one piece at a time, while in throwing, you work many pieces at once.<\/p>\n<p>TIP: If you are just beginning to get into ceramics or would like to develop your skills in ceramics here are some tips on how to get started in handbuilding.<\/p>\n<p>Handbuilding is great for developing your skill as a visual artist and is also relaxing because you get instant feedback as each piece begins to take form. It is easy to see how your work is turning out and it helps you develop patience since you are working on one piece at a time.<\/p>\n<p>Potters who have mastered the basics of handbuilding can create amazingly intricate work that rivals their throwing counterparts. There is no limit to what your imagination can produce when freehand building! Handbuilding keeps your hands active and engaged with clay throughout<\/p>\n<p>If you have never made a pot before, you should know that there are many different ways to go about it and I will give you my take on them. First you will need to make a potter&#8217;s wheel and learn how to use it so that we can discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a wheel versus throwing on the floor. You will also need to learn how to throw your clay on to the wheel so that we can discuss throwing on the wheel as opposed to hand building. After you have learned how to throw and center your clay, we will discuss the steps needed in order to create finished pots. Then I will talk about glazing your pots and firing methods, since this is something else that you will need to know once we are discussing how to make a pot. Once you have the basics down then I can show you some advanced techniques such as raku or salt firing.<\/p>\n<p>I want you all to understand that when I first started making pots I had absolutely no idea what I was doing; however, after some time I was able to figure it out by reading books and taking classes. The reason for me writing this book is because most of the information about handbuilding that is out there is either very confusing or complicated for beginners. It&#8217;s easy for someone<\/p>\n<p>As a new potter, you will not have any of these things in place. You might not even have a studio space or work tables at first. But with just a little advance planning, you can have your basic equipment and supplies ready to go.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve included some of my favorite tools and materials that I use for hand building. Most of them are things I&#8217;ve had for years, but I still love working with each and every one of them.<\/p>\n<p>Ceramic art is one of the most difficult mediums to master. It requires a great deal of knowledge and skill in order to produce quality work. This article will give you the basic knowledge that every beginner should know about handbuilding pottery.<\/p>\n<p>The first thing that you need to do when you want to begin handbuilding pottery is to gather your supplies. You will need clay, slip, a board or a piece of glass, a sponge, and water. You will also need something to use as your potter&#8217;s wheel in case you don&#8217;t have access to one already. You will also need something to carve your pieces out of clay with like a plastic tool or an exacto knife, depending on what you are making. Some tools come with the wheel, but if yours does not, it is recommended that you buy one separately before using it for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>When choosing slip, it is best to go with white or gray slip because they tend to be easier for beginners. However, if you are looking for a more professional finish on your work and are willing to put in the extra effort and time needed, then it might be better to choose slip which matches your glaze color so that you can stamp it directly on the clay while it is<\/p>\n<p>Ceramic art is an ancient art that has come a long way. In a large respect, the process of ceramics dates back to prehistoric times when pottery was first made. The use of clay and other similar materials such as stone and metal in their fabrication dates back to this time period.<\/p>\n<p>The earliest known evidence of the use of ceramics is in the form of shards of earthenware dating back to the Neolithic Period, or nearly 10,000 years ago. Closer to modern times, simple clay pots were used by the ancient Egyptians and Chinese. In fact, pottery is among the oldest human technologies still in use today as well as one of the most basic.<\/p>\n<p>In early civilizations throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, pottery was used for cooking and storage purposes. By about 2200 B.C., potters began creating decorative items for personal use and trade.<\/p>\n<p>The art continued to develop over time becoming more complex with the addition of paint and glazes that enhanced its appearance or provided a different color. It eventually became an art form much like any other with some artists rising to stardom for their work. Ceramic art has also been influenced by other art forms including painting and sculpture which may be seen<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-mlyN7Bj1iM?autoplay=1&#038;mute=1\"><\/iframe><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BBz-Jyr23M4?autoplay=1&#038;mute=1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CERAMIC ART: What Every Beginner Needs to Know About Handbuilding is the blog of an artist and maker of pots, not a pottery teacher. I am happy to answer questions about forming, glazing, and firing, but my best advice is this: take a class in handbuilding. There are many places you can go to learn. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64487"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64487"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64489,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64487\/revisions\/64489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}