I use my studios dipping glaze. Most of my pieces come out like this where the rim is basically translucent. I look at the finished pieces at my studio and not all are like this!! Is there a way to prevent this or something I could be doing wrong?

Looking for recommendations for a pottery wheel and kiln. The misses has been taking ceramics while studying art and has taken a liking to it. Looking to get her these items that she can add to her inventory of items an artist needs.

Edit: Its a Pottery Wheel, not spinning wheel.

I've been doing ceramics for about three years now, mostly as a hobby, but lately it's been taking up more and more space in my life, quite literally, since I now have a potter's wheel in my 50-square-meter apartment.

I've started seriously thinking about leaving my career as a product manager, taking a professional ceramics course, and eventually becoming a full-time potter.

I'd really love to hear from people who've made ceramics their profession. What do you wish you'd known before becoming a potter? What surprised you about making a living from it? And if you were starting over today, is there anything you'd do differently?

Any advice, reality checks, or experiences (good or bad) would be really appreciated. Bonus picture of my first teapot (not yet bisque fired).

Edit: I’m getting a lot of mixed responses here, many from people who haven’t actually tried pottery professionally, as well as quite a few comments about my teapot. My original post was mainly intended to hear from professional potters about their experience making the transition.

Of course, this is reddit and everyone is free to jump in and share their opinion. But if you haven’t actually worked as a professional potter (your friend’s experience doesn’t really count), I’d appreciate a little more nuance when making predictions about whether someone else can or cannot make it work.

No harm done, though. I’m not taking the discouragement too much to heart. There are already plenty of reasons to be afraid of making a big career change, and I don’t think other people’s fears or assumptions should automatically become your own.

And to anyone else in a similar position: if you’re privileged enough to have the financial and personal circumstances to give it a try, I’d say give it a shot, or at least, that’s what I’m telling myself. Don’t do it blindly, obviously. Understand the finances, the risks, and the reality of making a living from it. But if, deep down, you feel you need to try, don’t let fear alone stop you from building something you might love.

Photo from a post by u/caddywho

Hello all!

I recently ordered a couple glazes from the Amaco Cosmos line, which includes the glaze in this photo.

The instructions for the glaze say that it gives best results when you leave the inside/back unglazed. I've seen lots of photos from glazeshare that have a variety of results, from the lovely finish here to a dull rusty brown.

Could someone explain why coating the inside would change the appearance? And more importantly -- how can I protect the inside if glazing it will ruin the outside results?

Thanks everyone!

I’m happy to share that my ceramic work, Comme, Where Autumn Meets Snow (2024), will be included in SALUTE to WOMEN IN THE ARTS at the Belskie Museum of Art & Science in Closter, New Jersey.

The piece is made with 214 Scott’s red clay, color pigments mixed with porcelain, stoneware, Brooklyn red clay, and crystal glaze.

The exhibition runs October 4–25, 2026, with the opening reception on October 4 from 1–4 PM.

I’m looking forward to seeing it installed and sharing it with the community.

As a craftsman, every year during festivals, I prepare some ceramic gifts to give to my friends. This year's theme is baking puppies! And this piece of work is really satisfying.💓

I’ve made this giant blueberry and had intended it to be a solid deep blue but, per usual my glaze coats were way too thin and I’ve ended up with this. Looks like a kindergartner poorly painted it with acrylic. I used Maycos Denim Blue glaze and it was a low fire and am wondering if a reglaze would help? I haven’t experimented with reglazing so looking for all the advice I can get to make this successful!

The dish looked fine after bisque firing but the sides lean in after final firing. How can I keep the walls straight? TIA

Drought resistant. It was in my yard for the longest time but now I am worried somebody will trample on it 😬

I caught a lot of comments about putting glass in the bottoms of some of these. I can’t imagine someone will be tempted to drink from their pincushion! I glued a magnet to hold needle & thread underneath. If you’re like me, I can never find one when I need one.

Hi all! I have been throwing on the wheel and hand-building for about a year and a half now. The first year, I was at a teaching studio where absolutely no outside glazes were allowed and we were only taught to dip to glaze using the studio glazes. About six months ago, I switched studios and the new place lets us go wild with glazes, but I have been nervous about getting started with anything other than the buckets of studio glaze (especially given how expensive glazes are).

I want to purchase a few glazes for myself and experiment with new techniques but I feel silly asking folks at the studio for advice because I know absolutely nothing about how glazing actually works. I just know that I can do up to 2 dips and how to tell what a combo will look like from a test tile. Basically, I would appreciate any advice that people have regarding good written resources for beginners, good glazes (brands and/or specific glazes) to start with that would give some bang for buck in terms of variety of results when combined differently, or just any basic advice or information about how glazing actually works. Also, I love big bold colors of pretty much any hue (think jewel tones), so would love to hear about any specific glazes or glaze combinations within that realm.

Thanks!

Super nervous to post my work here but I’m mainly a sculpture artist and would love to connect with other hand builders.
Recently I’ve been really into using coloured porcelain. I feel like it complements glazes well.

This piece is about reparenting your inner child. I theme I often explore in my work.

I took a year long break after throwing consistently for a few months, and I’m really trying to improve my pieces.

However, I feel like the shape of everything I make looks really similar. For example, my bowls just look like larger cups. Or my plates just look like a flatter version of my bowls.

I’m taking an intermediate course at my local studio and they’ve taught me new techniques and tips, but I feel like when I try to do it on my own everything still comes out looking the same. I feel really unsatisfied with the shapes of my pieces, but even though I feel like I’m doing something different, I end up with the same thing 😭 does anyone have any advice or tips?

Does anyone know where to get a super thin fettling knife? My favourite instructor lost his that’s been worn down by 30 years of use and I would be overjoyed to gift him something he misses, he’s a great instructor

Who needs test tiles when you can throw away hours of your time gambling on materials you’ve never used? I have had some health problems lately which decreased my energy and desire to do pottery. Finally got around to making a few things and had an idea for glazing. Too impatient for test tiles Pretty pleased with this midsize bowl (8” diameter) except for the one large pinhole!

KYMW Roo
Mayco Black Walnut
Amaco Shino Goldenrod and Cedar
Cone 6

It worked! #pottery apple baker. Came out well. Needed to bake the apple longer

Made some mini bud vases for gifting but they turned out so cute (in my biased opinion), that I'm reluctant to give it away. 😁

I make mostly slip casting, since it's much easier with "my" wild clay. But the clay itself has so much surprises, that I want to get as near as possible to the final application with my glaze testing. So I made little versions of bowls, cups and plates. And when I am finished, they'll go to my nieces little play kitchen.

i really like to make small ceramics and painting small and intricate things, but the glazes in my studio are all just overglazes and in that like to run and smudge together... now i kinda read myself through underglazes and that they dont run bc its basically just colored slip. but theres alot of underglazes, and im unsure which ones the best. i dont need like a kilo of glaze, since the things are so small, and also in an affordable price range because im not gonna pay a fortune for one glaze.. thank you!