The Beginner's Guide to Wheel Throwing: A Complete Course for the Potter's Wheel (Essential Ceramics Skills)

“An excellent guide for those aspiring to take up pottery making. […] While nothing can replace hands-on instruction, this book comes close.” ―Library Journal Starred Review

Ready, set, throw! If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at the pottery wheel, or if you have ever taken a class and walked away wishing you knew more, you’ve come to the right place.

Welcome to the wheel, from artist and instructor Julia Claire Weber. In The Beginner’s Guide to Wheel Throwing, you’ll find all you need to develop the skills (and patience) you need to make your first forms. You’ll start at the beginning of the process with a tour through a typical ceramics studio, a discussion of the best clays for throwing, as well as a variety of centering methods. Then unleash your creativity with the chapters that follow. You’ll find:

• Starter projects like cups, bowls, and plates to hone your skills.
• Tutorials on important topics like trimming and handles.
• A unique decal workshop, unlocking the potential of image transfer.

Throughout the book, skill-building is front and center, with tips and tricks to help you crack the code and make pieces you’re proud of. Gallery work from some of today’s top artists will inspire potters of all levels. What will you make first?

For beginners and those returning to ceramics, the Essential Ceramics Skills series from Quarry Books offers the fundamentals along with fresh, contemporary, and simple projects that build skills progressively.

Julia Claire Weber is a full-time studio artist (Julia Claire Clay) and a part-time gallery manager. An alumni of the Odyssey Clayworks residency program, Julia was previously studio manager of Clayspace in Erie, PA and is a graduate of the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania ceramics program. Julia keeps a full teaching schedule at craft and art centers across the country and her work has been widely featured and displayed, including exhibitions at NCECA, Pottery Northwest, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Objective Clay, and the Touchstone Center for Crafts. In print, Julia’s work can be seen in Amazing Glaze, Creative Pottery, Ceramics Monthly, Ceramic Arts Daily, and more.