Reddit mentions: The best pottery & ceramic craft books

Agree about "The Polymer Clay Techniques Book" by Sue Heaser. An oldie but goodie, and always a favorite of mine because she just covers so many different things in one book, and simply. (I wouldn't use some of the same colors or necessarily make the same things, but that won't matter for techniques. That book isn't primarily about sculpting although that's covered a bit.)
https://www.amazon.com/Polymer-Clay-Techniques-Book/dp/1581800088
(paperback is fine... eBay may have used copies cheaper if you're interested in it)

Re painting on baked polymer clay, there are just a few things to know about preparing the surfaces, paints to use and not use, etc:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/paints.htm

And btw, temperature and time are interdependent for the type of plastic that polymer clay is, although too high for a particular brand/line will create more darkening than you might want unless the clay is protected (and it will actually burn at 385), and too low will take much longer than you might want for thoroughly polymerizing all the way to the center.

Re bulk brands/lines of polymer clay usually sold for "sculpting," original plain Sculpey will be very brittle in thin or projecting areas. Super Sculpey-flesh will be better but still brittle in those areas. Super Sculpey-Firm will be strong, and Super Sculpey-Medium will be halfway between SS and SS-Firm.
Other brands of flesh-colored bulk polymer clays will be strong but each will have its own handling characteristics (e.g., Fimo's Doll/Puppen clays and Cernit's Doll Clays).

That's turtley awesome!

I LOVE your fimo creations! So cute, especially the turtley awesome turtles!

Since you've just started I thought this book would be useful for you to help you more with your craft. Just in case that doesn't count as something crafty there's also this which is something I've recently gotten into.

Here's just one of a ton of amazing tutorials by this lady who makes the cutest little charms!

I don't have any pictures of the things I've crocheted. :( Here's a bonus time lapse on the making of Elsa from Frozen though!

I would absolutely love one of those turtles with the flower on it's shell, so stinking cute! Thank you so much for the contest!

The studio I work at has a copy of this book and we LOVE it. I am basically a beginner - I have been at this just over a year now, and I find it incredibly helpful to figure out my problems before pestering my two instructors with questions. I'm a big believer in self-taught troubleshooting. This book is helpful too because sometimes even they dont know what the particular problem is, and we can learn about it together!

I think you're a great friend for willing to spend (a fair bit) of money on another friend's hobby :)

I started with Polymer clay. Do a google search for Sculpy. With polymer clay you can use basic tools to mild it and then harden your creations in the oven.

There are millions of YouTube tutorials on how to create basic gifts, through to advanced sculptures. It's a great hobby and polymer clay is pretty inexpensive (£10 - £20 in the UK).

Once you are confident you can then look to buy a kiln (mine cost £600 second hand). Unfortunately this is a must for ceramic production. I'd look to amazon for pottery/ceramic sculpture books and purchase clay from suppliers such as Bathpotters.co.uk.

I recommend this book for beginners: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handmade-Pottery-At-Home-Ceramics/dp/1446303462

Hope this helps :)

There's a book called the Ceramic Glaze Handbook and it is super helpful and easy to follow. Shows you what a lot of different materials look like, what they can do at different temperatures, when mixed with other materials...etc. And there's also a good chunk of tried and true recipes in it as well.

Clay and Glazes For the Potter is the best resource for glaze formulation. An older edition can be picked up pretty cheaply. I think I paid $15 for my copy. http://www.amazon.ca/Clay-Glazes-Potter-Daniel-Rhodes/dp/0873418638

The ceramic spectrum is also pretty good as well http://www.amazon.ca/Ceramic-Spectrum-Simplified-Approach-Development/dp/0873418212

Offer to help your art teacher clean up or other tasks in exchange for giving you time in the studio, and to glaze your own pieces. If you end up loving clay then you can work towards building a home studio. However if you think you might go away after high school, you may want to hold off on your own studio, as the kiln and other equipment is not easily transportable.

Googling everything is going to take a long time to figure out what applies and does not apply to your work. I would recommend starting with a book, and using search to augment your information. Your library probably has this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Potters-Bible-Essential-Illustrated-Reference-ebook/dp/B01G8U33YK/

Molecular structure gets changed in glaze firing, called vitrification. Bisque firing burns out organic matter and clay undergoes quartz inversion: bisque isn't needed, but is very convenient for glazing and is less fragile than bone dry greenware.

There are many many different types of firings and clay composition. I will try to refer you to some literature tomorrow if I remember.

some really fantastic resources:

http://www.amazon.com/Potters-Book-Bernard-Leach/dp/057110973X
http://www.amazon.com/Clay-Glazes-Potter-Daniel-Rhodes/dp/0873418638
http://www.amazon.com/Ceramic-Science-Potter-W-Lawrence/dp/0801971551

Rhode's book is the one I had in college; very comprehensive and informative.
Leach's book covers a lifetime of observations from perhaps the most influential potter of the Western world
Lawrence's book starts to get into the really interesting side of technical ceramics: exploring topics of firing chemistry and chemical tailoring.

Sounds like you need to make a multi-part mold or recast/sculpt the positive hand so that there are no overhangs. I suggest checking out this book if you have access to a good library, or buying it if you plan to do a lot of clay casting.

Yes, I'm definitely interested in that solution. Please let me know when you do the guide. Thanks!

Hit me up if you need mold making or slip casting help. Andrew Martin's book is really great.

I've already got the pyrometer from a while back. At that time it was the best option available. But it sounds like in true technological fashion it has been made obsolete. The function of that pyrometer I do really like is being able to use two probes to measure the difference between the top and bottom of the kiln. Would it be difficult to build this multi-probe functionality into your system?

Yes, the way Blaauw does it is with an oxygen sensor in the kiln. That high temp probe is pretty pricy, but is the only way to accurately measure oxidation/neutral/reduction atmosphere in the kiln. Based on what the combination of pyrometer and oxygen probe sense, the controller balances forced air flow, gas, and damper settings. The baseline is the calculation for a stoichiometric burn. But you might be surprised how simple the damper system is. Its not very different from what you have setup. The Blaauw's are also (the one's I've worked with) updrafts. But they are able to fire very evenly because of an absurb amount of pressure from very high flow blowers.

If/when you upgrade the hardware on the kiln, using a forced air burner will give you a lot more control. Sounds like you're already very much on the right track by researching Ward.

You definitely want to do more research on the firing and function of kilns. The Kiln Book is a great resource. If you want any control over the end product you're going to have to put a significant amount of engineering into this project.

These two could be good, depending on which you think is more her type. :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0970373465

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1436335205

It's a great one! The one I go back to time after time is Clay and Glazes for the Potter by Daniel Rhodes. https://www.amazon.com/Clay-Glazes-Potter-Daniel-Rhodes/dp/0873418638/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1536187998&sr=8-14&keywords=Ceramic+glaze+chemistry

This looks like an olson.

Very similar to the one on their kiln kits page.

As /u/dirtygremlin mentioned, "The Kiln Book" is an invaluable resource.

I have the 3rd edition but it looks like there is a 4th edition out.

There are some turn key gas kiln setups out there but they are all going to require more work to set up than an electric kiln.

Almost all of them will have some custom elements involved.

https://www.amazon.com/Tile-Your-World-Bridges-Setting/dp/0974275433

There is an associated forum. The book is out of print but is worth $290, at $29 it's a steal.

ALL of the reddit advice when people make tiling mistakes is in this book. Any confusion is cleared up on the forums.

Tiling starts with framing properly. There are simple rules. Once you figure it out, it's all very logical and makes sense.

The comfort of relaxing in your new shower/bathtub knowing that your wood-frame house is safe is priceless.

I just ordered "Pinch Pottery" by Susan Halls. I saw it in the class I was taking and loved it. It is a focus on various handbuilding techniques.

Pinch Pottery: Functional, Modern Handbuilding https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1454704136/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Z-csyb3D70WP9

https://www.amazon.com/Kiln-Book-Materials-Specifications-Construction/dp/0873419103

Took a special topics kiln building class during my last semester of undergrad (ceramics/glass BFA) - this book is an incredible resource for learning why you might build one way or another, what materials to use, and how to construct the kiln itself.

First of all, I'd recommend to be prepared for the culture shock. That is so much more important than actually learning facts, those come along naturally eventually. I work as a hosting coordinator for a big non-profit exchange organization and a lot of our exchange students end up having troubles because they assumed they were prepared - when really, they weren't. I'd recommend reading something like "The Exchange Student's Survival Kit" by Bettina Hansel, which is not focused on Germany per se, but rather all the troubles dealing with entering a different culture. Secondly, literature about German culture would be helpful (maybe something like this) to prepare for traditions and some of the weird habits we have (such as mixing our fruit juices with sparkling water ;)).

Edit: No nazi jokes. Old people get offended. Young people have heard them all and will get annoyed. No one finds them funny.

powdered plaster will not work. it will bond with whatever you pour into the mold and ruin the ceramic material.

the reason slipcasting works is because the cured plaster absorbs the water and deflocculant out of the ceramic material.

if you're really interested in learning about slipcasting and dont want to take another class on it from someone who knows a lot, I would recommend Andrew Martin's book -
https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Guide-Making-Casting-Ceramics/dp/1600590772

nobody here is going to go in depth enough to teach you how to do it

I actually just finished doing a tile shower, this book helped tremendously
Link

What about this book? Have you heard anything about it?

Fred Olsen's Kiln Book

I'm a fan of doing and trying new things. Building a kiln is probably something you could do. I'd just warn you that the brick in your existing grill probably won't stand up to the heat of a high fire kiln. There are specific bricks formulated as fire brick and they are rated to various temps.

If you like the idea of building you own then go for it! I'd start with some research. Maybe buy your wife a kiln book for Christmas then see what she says?

https://www.amazon.com/Kiln-Book-Frederick-L-Olsen/dp/0812221869/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481064608&sr=8-1&keywords=kiln+book

Estou morando na Alemanha também, no caso em Munique.

Não é minha primeira vez morando fora do país, já morei um ano em Melbourne onde me adaptei muito bem e antes e havia estudado alemão até o A2. Mas o choque cultural aqui na Alemanha vem sendo muitíssimo maior do que eu esperava.

Antes de vir recomendo a leitura para entender melhor o povo alemão:

https://www.amazon.com/Those-Crazy-Germans-Lighthearted-Germany/dp/1436335205