Books | Linda Bloomfield

Science for Potters

Science for Potters covers those aspects of science which are useful to potters and which help to give a deeper understanding of ceramic materials and processes. Aspects of geology, chemistry and materials science are covered where relevant to potters. The properties of clays are explained by examining their chemistry and structure. The various rocks and minerals used in glaze making are explored. There are clearly explained science basics, including the elements, the structure of the atom, how atoms combine to make compounds and why some compounds can be used to make coloured pigments and glazes. The deeper understanding of materials, their structure, composition, origins and how they interact will give potters greater control over and new insights into their craft.

Science for Potters, price £23 plus £3 postage
The Handbook of Glaze Recipes

The Handbook of Glaze Recipes is an essential studio companion for any potter. Covering a comprehensive range of glazes including porcelain, crystalline and raku as well as stoneware and earthenware, each recipe is illustrated with a useful test tile to demonstrate the effects of opaque, matte, and transparent glazes on different clays and at varying temperatures, and numbered for ease of reference.

The book also features an introduction to the basics of mixing, applying and adjusting glazes, and correcting typical glaze faults. It also includes many clay body recipes, including a variety of ones for porcelain, wood firing and even Egyptian paste. Compiled by studio potter and glaze expert Linda Bloomfield, and based not only on on years of meticulously recorded tests, but also researched from a large assortment of established ceramic artists, The Handbook of Glaze Recipes is a must-have resource for any potter wishing to experiment or expand their glazes and clay bodies.

Amazon (UK): The Handbook of Glaze Recipes
Advanced Pottery

Advanced Pottery describes and illustrates the latest pottery techniques, particularly for making large or complex pots, with examples from leading potters from the UK and abroad.

The book shows work from a cross-section of different studio potters and the materials, tools and methods they use. It focuses on advanced techniques, including throwing on the wheel, hand building, coiling, slabbing, making and using moulds and altering thrown work. Clays and glazes are explained in detail, highlighting the many different colours obtainable and giving recipes and methods for creating and modifying glazes. Firing techniques are also covered and instructions for building a fast-fire kiln are included. The book is intended as a practical guide to the latest techniques for potters, teachers, students and anyone interested in working with clay and glazes.

Amazon (UK): Advanced Pottery
Contemporary Tableware

Tableware has occupied a special place in our kitchens and dining rooms for thousands of years, and continues to enchant us today. Ranging from the purely functional to the fine and delicate, the evolution of domestic pots tells us much about our changing tastes and habits, and the wider art and cultural movements that have influenced their decoration and forms.

In Contemporary Tableware, maker Linda Bloomfield looks at the history of the pots on our tables, from Sung Chinese and Medieval English ware to the revival of studio pottery and the influence of Scandinavian, American and Japanese design. She goes on to examine common forms in contemporary tableware, including teapots, bowls, cups, jugs and plates, and to explain the elements of form, function and beauty in each. Lavishly illustrated with examples from contemporary studio pottery and industry, as well as making images from working potters, this book is the essential guide to modern tableware for potters, designers and buyers.

Amazon (UK): Contemporary Tableware
Colour in Glazes

A complete guide to achieving a fantastic spectrum of colourful glazes for the studio potter, Colour in Glazes looks at all the methods of achieving colour in glazes, focusing on colouring oxides in detail, including the newly available rare earth oxides.

Types of base glazes and the fluxes used to make them are discussed in relation to colour response. Emphasis is placed on using colouring oxides to achieve depth and variety of colour, rather than just resorting to commercial ceramic stains. The practical aspects of mixing, applying, testing and adjusting glazes are explained. and a large section of test tiles and glaze recipes is included, for use on white earthenware, stoneware and porcelain fired in electric, gas and salt kilns.

A very useful book aimed at making glazes to achieve the colour you want, and to help you broaden your palette.

Amazon (UK): Colour in Glazes

Navigation

Science for Potters

The Handbook of Glaze Recipes

Advanced Pottery

Contemporary Tableware

Colour in Glazes