High Fire vs Midrange Pottery: What’s the Difference?
Midrange is cone 5 to 6, high fire is cone 9 to 10. The gap changes vitrification, surface depth, fit and cost.
Is handmade pottery food safe? The glaze questions I get most
Lead, crazing, bare feet, matte glazes and rough salt surfaces: the food safety questions I hear at every market, answered the way I answer them in person.
Why Pottery Warps — And How to Design Against It
Clay always shrinks. Warping happens when it shrinks unevenly, and most of that is designed in before the pot dries.
Bisque firing vs glaze firing: what each one actually does
Most pots go through the kiln twice, and the two firings do completely different jobs. Here is what bisque does, what the glaze firing does, and how to tell which stage a pot is at.
Food Safe Isn’t Just “Lead Free” in Pottery
Lead free does not mean food safe. Safety in pottery comes from formulation, full firing, vitrification, glaze fit and testing.
Handles day: the Summers mugs, part 2, and a birthday box of new tools
Scoring, slipping, pressing and cleaning a full set of mug handles for the Summers order, plus the first clay on a box of new birthday tools.
A Firing Schedule That Solves Problems
My cone 10 electric firing schedule, segment by segment, and why each step prevents a specific firing problem.
Studio Reclaim Without the Chaos
Reclaim can quietly take over a studio. Batching, moisture control and a pug mill turned mine into a predictable system.
Common Glaze Problems and How to Fix Them
How to tell pinholing, crawling, shivering and crazing apart, what usually causes each one, and where to start fixing it.
Why Plates Warp and How to Prevent It
Plates warp from uneven stress. Clay choice, compression, even thickness, slow drying and level shelves keep them flat.
Why do pots crack after firing? The causes I see most
Most cracks were decided before the kiln was lit. How to read an S crack, a rim crack, a handle joint crack, and the one crack the kiln really does cause.
How to Actually Test for Crazing and Shivering
A glaze can look perfect and still fail. Here is how I test for crazing and shivering with water, a marker and time.
Handmade pottery gift guide 2026: what to buy and for whom
A potter's honest advice on giving pots: the right piece for the coffee drinker, the cook, the person who has everything, and the one who brings flowers home.
How to Find Natural Clay Near You (Utah Guide)
Clay is almost everywhere. The hard part is not finding it. It is knowing what you are looking at once you are standing on it.
Why I Make Pottery in a Mass-Produced World
Why make pottery by hand when mugs are everywhere? Because most of what is available is built to be efficient, not to last.
Throwing a custom mug order for the Summers family, part 1
A set of matching mugs starts at the scale, not the wheel. The throwing day for the Summers family order, frame by frame.
Crawling and Shivering — Why Glazes Fail
Crawling and shivering are not just part of ceramics. One is an application problem and the other is chemistry. Both can be prevented.
The 7 Stages of Clay, With a Photo of Each Stage
Slip, plastic, leather hard, bone dry, bisque, glazeware, glaze fired. What each stage is, what you can do at it, and a photo of each from my studio.
What Is an Atmospheric Kiln?
An atmospheric kiln controls oxygen as well as heat. Here is what oxidation, reduction and neutral mean, and where salt fits.
Why Your Glaze Is Pinholing
Pinholes are gas escaping through glaze that is already sealing. Here are the four usual causes and how to test for each.