Oxford Clay

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 Podcas...

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 disappoin...

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 glaz...

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 glaz...

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 ho...

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 i...

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...

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-ri...

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 ash...

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, usi...

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 cop...

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 Potter...

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 s...

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?...

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 ------------------------------- Resources for Potters: ⭐ Pottery Paperback Books available from Amazon Free Pottery Guides: 🆓 Download the...

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 YouTub...

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube ✨Support the Podcast ------------------------------- Resources for Potters: ⭐ 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 Electric Kiln for bisque and stoneware glaze firings (includes full kiln firi...

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 a...

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 met...

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 decorat...

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:  *Twe...

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...

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&...

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 pot...

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, ef...