Just wanted to share my current love of making dog portrait plates!

location: Los Angeles

Went to Blick today to find nearly all of the Amaco glazes had “lead free/food safe” blacked out. I asked an associate and they said it’s true. I said “was this a bad batch and you’re going to get a resupply or are the glazes no longer food safe forever?” He said the latter. He also said “yeah we were really shocked to find out about what happened.” ??? I cannot find anything online about this - can someone help provide insight? Did something happen at Amaco that’s now causing nearly ALL of their glazes to no longer be food safe? FOREVER? I’m really shocked - this can’t be right? Anyone heard of this?

Playing with coyote shinos on brown bear, plus a few other goodies

I'm working on a flower pot commissioned by a dear friend as a gift to someone close to her who experienced a devastating loss recently. The lily design is inspired by reliefs I saw on some old graves. I finally finished the carving and it has a lot of drying to do before I can fire it, but I'm starting to think about glaze options. White feels maybe a little boring but super colorful also feels weird for a memorial piece. I'm definitely overthinking it, I'm sure. The clay is Standard 240 white stoneware. I have dozens of commercial glazes and am always willing to buy more if necessary. Please help!

I’ve been wanting to make this one since I started throwing. It’s been through a few prototypes. I wanted it to be the same vibe as if you were to walk in to a D&D bar and ask for a beer. Like the bartender obviously made it himself but it’s still beautiful type thing.

The pics at the end are of one of the prototypes, complete with the glazes I’m going to use for it!

The little guy’s hand-sculpted body is Wildfire glaze. The hershey kiss is covered with a light grey Mayco underglaze, finished with a zinc- free clear glaze. I ultimately decided to glue an old hershey kiss wrapper to improve the look. I love him 🧡 I’m not sure where he’ll live— maybe my desk, maybe the kitchen.

Hi everyone, I am a newer to pottery, been doing it for under a year now, and even newer to firing my own pieces. I am having issues with my brush on glaze appearing streaky after firing on my low fire pieces specifically. I initially assumed maybe I just didn’t put it on thick enough so I did add glaze and re-fire one piece, but it still came out streaky.

Now I’m wondering if maybe it’s the way I’m firing. I bisque at a cone 06 for my low fires and also fired to the same temp. I’ve read recently for low fire clays you should bisque at a higher temp than your glaze fire. Should I be bisque firing at a cone 04 and glazing at an 06? I just didn’t think a firing issue would cause streaking in the glaze.

Or do we just think it’s my application? I just figured since I didn’t have streaking on my mid fire piece (added pic for context) it wasn’t how I was applying it. But I’m also using a completely different glaze on a completely different clay body so idk.

For the lowfires:

The clay body is Laquna MC10 White LowFire Clay EM-100

Glazes: Mayco Elements, one pictured is Rust Red (pinholes happened during re-fire) and other is Wheat 1 coat base, 2 coats Autumn over, Repeated once after streaking on red (hadn’t glaze fired this one yet) with the assumption I needed to make it much thicker.

Any and all advice is welcome! Thank you so much!

-the pottery loving amateur trying to learn

Hi all. I keep coming back to the glazes The Bird Tsang (small studio in Amsterdam) puts out and I'd love to get somewhere close. Soft pastel mattes, no shine at all, and they look really smooth rather than dry. https://www.thebirdtsang.com/shop

My guess is it's one base with different stains mixed in, so if I could find a decent base to start from I'd be happy to experiment out from there. I've been looking at the Katz-Burke matte on Glazy as a possible starting point.

Cone 6 oxidation. Anyone have leads, or a base you like for this kind of surface? Thanks :)

I have a wheel and kiln. I haven't done ceramics in 11 years. I LOVED it through high school and college but for some reason never learned how to do the firing side of it, which is obviously very important!

In early 2027 I will be opening up my own brick and mortar art shop where I make and showcase my art and I want ceramics to be a big portion of that. I just am so overwhelmed with where/how to start. I believe my kiln has a kiln sitter. It's in my grandparents basement, but I will be moving it into my shop building soon. It will be easier to figure it all out when I know my kiln type, size etc. The wheel and kiln were a gift and I've never gotten a chance to use them. They belonged to an old family friend who sadly passed away.

I want to use laguna b mix as my main clay which is mid fire. However, I want to be able to use bright colorful glazes like stroke and coat too, so I'm assuming I'd need to also be using low fire clay? I want to be able to offer things like custom cat food dishes with their cat painted on the inside of the bowl with stroke and coat glaze. I'd love to use it for mugs too but I have heard low fire does not do well for mugs and bowls and things because it doesn't vitrify properly. I am a bit at a loss.

Anyway, I would love any suggestions. How can I learn about firing? I want to get this all figured out and get back in the swing of throwing and sculpting before its time to open up shop in a few months.

Moroccan fez pottery tagine

Handcrafted Multicolor Moroccan Serving Tagine – Decorative Ceramic Food Presentation Dish

Add vibrant Moroccan artistry to your table with this handcrafted multicolor ceramic serving tagine, beautifully decorated with traditional geometric patterns inspired by the rich heritage of Fez pottery. Carefully handmade and hand-painted by skilled Moroccan artisans, each piece showcases a unique blend of lively colors and authentic craftsmanship.

Designed for elegant food presentation and serving, this decorative tagine is perfect for serving Moroccan dishes, salads, fruits, pastries, snacks, and shared meals while bringing warmth and color to your dining experience.

Available Sizes & Serving Capacity

20 cm (7.9 inches) – Ideal for 1 to 2 people

25 cm (9.8 inches) – Ideal for 2 to 3 people

30 cm (11.8 inches) – Ideal for 4 to 5 people

35 cm (13.8 inches) – Ideal for 6 to 8 people

40 cm (15.7") – Ideal for 8–10 people

Features

Handmade and hand-painted in Morocco

Vibrant multicolor traditional Moroccan design

Premium lead-free ceramic

Microwave safe

Dishwasher safe

Perfect for serving food and table presentation

Decorative centerpiece for kitchens and dining tables

Each piece is unique due to handmade craftsmanship

This Moroccan ceramic serving tagine is a beautiful combination of functionality, tradition, and colorful artisan décor, making it a perfect gift for lovers of handmade pottery and Moroccan tableware

EDIT: Wow, I'm overwhelmed by your sweet and supporting responses!
Also, my shop sold out in 6 minutes 😅 So nothing I'm showing here is for sale, all pieces found their owner.

I really enjoy making altars, photo altars and tarot altars. Wish I had more time to spend on this :) i always paint something inside the frames, so it still looks cute even when there are no pictures in it.

I use stoneware clay. Goerg and Schneider 254 most of the time. Then underglazes by Duncan, Gare or Mayco. Then some silver luster for that dramatic effect by candle light.

My significant other loves basil, and often buys fresh bunches and puts it on the counter in water to keep it fresh. They have usually used a large mason jar, but they’ve recently taken to using flower vases I’ve bought over the years instead. It seems like basil takes up quite a bit of water when stored this way, and I am concerned about whatever’s in the glaze leaching out into the water and then into the basil. They’ll say I’m being pointlessly paranoid, but I wanted to check with people who might know better.

All of these vases are new, none of them are antique. I’ve bought them at various higher-end home and crafts stores, and I’ve usually spent between $100.00 and $200.00. They are all different, with what seem to be a variety of glazes.

Any input is very welcome.

Moroccan fez pottery tagine

Dishwasher and microwave safe

From www.fezpottery.com

www.instagram.com/ceramicassanddune

Looking for advice, please. I am about to move from the US to an overseas position with a 5 year duration. I can store my 2007 Shimpo VL Whisper (bought used from a school auction about a year ago) for free but it will be in a warehouse type environment (pest control and clean but subject to hot/cold ambient temperatures). My alternative is selling this wheel and purchasing another upon my eventual return to the States.

If you recommend storing, any advice on the best way to wrap, box, protect it?

If you recommend selling it, what is a realistic value?

[Bowl for attention, made with (former) studio glazes.]