the studio experience
Helen Levi
Page 24 | Inside the life of Instagram's rising ceramic artist
Clay Bodies
Page 16 | A look at the human history of clay
the makeup of clay bodies used around the world
Page 32 | Tools to know to start your own home studio
Kiln Mechanics
Page 36 | Understanding all of the purposes of wedging clay
workings of mechanical and gas kilns explained
Page 42 | The beauty and techniques of Raku firing
Page 8 | A compilation of
Page 50 | The inner
Volume 12 |  $19.99 2020 Ceramics Issue
clay bodies
features
8 artist spotlight
8
Clay Bodies world look:
all you need to know
24
Artist Spotlight
the masters: all
50
Kiln Mechanics
technology: a look at
about the different
about the studio,
the inner workings
clay bodies used
work, creative
of a kiln. Also, learn
by ceramic artists
process, and booming
about different types
around the world
success of Helen
and uses for kilns as
Levi, Instagrams top
well as the meaning
ceramic artist
behind all different cone firings
24 kiln mechanics
50 Cover photography courtesy of unsplash 2  |  atelier 2020
C O N T E N T S
departments
4
To t h e R e a de rs editor’s letter:
words from the editor
10
Pets and Pottery
history: about the
32
To o ls t o Know
tools: how to start
42
Raku Firing
techniques: the fun,
who molded this
ceramics surrounding
a studio and an
surprises, and safety
magazine
our canine friends
infographic of basic
behind this beautiful
studio tools
Japanese firing
6
viewer's letter: a nice
16
showcase of reader
the history of human
submissions
use of clay
Fe a t u re s From Our Readers
Humans and Pottery
history: a look into
36
technique
Clay We d g i n g
skills: understanding the several purposes
58
Oxide Glazing
techniques: breaking
o f w e d g i n g, w e t t i n g,
down the chemical
and preparing clay
makeup and science
before throwing
behind a glazes' glass formation when fired
6
36
42
the studio experience
President | Jake Geiger Vice President | Elaine Cunfer Lead Editor | Morgan Nadin Managing Editor | Karen Kresge Senior Copy Editor | Poppy Mitchell Assistant Editor | Julianna LoMonaco Article Editor | Kaleigh Moran Project Manager | Sophia Tornay General Assistant | Allison Kostaras Photographer | Madison Woodruff Assistant Photographer | Eirene Hoover Marketing Director | Noah Walker Sponsor Manager | Helen Kerschner Sponsor | Dr. Lynda Runyon Distribution Manager | Eve Piper
PUBLISHED BY Naseef Publications 181 Redwood Grove Daytona, Florida 29183 407.430.9240 naseefpub.com
4  |  atelier 2020
T H E
dear readers
T
here are so many things outside
been able to have a hand in the creation
of my field of work of design and
of Atelier, the beginners deep dive into
editing that excite me; Traveling
learning about and creating ceramic
and learning about the world around me
pieces. Clay and ceramics are an part of
hands on is something that makes my
nearly all ancient human societies and
heart beat a little faster. So when I heard
continue to be an important part of daily
that the annual topic for Atelier was
life, despite the fact that most people
ceramics, I couldn’t have been happier.
don’t have to create their own ceramics
The act of creating pieces by hand from natural materials is thrilling, and the idea that the items could be functional in a home or workspace is a bonus. While working on this edition, I got to dig my
by scratch anymore. However, ceramic creation is an art that been experiencing a revival in America despite the great prevalence of technology in society and the ability to mass produce all things clay.
hands into the nuanced elements of
Pottery is not a craft that is required for
ceramics, from picking clay, to throwing
human societies to thrive, but is one that
on the wheel, to mixing glazes, and
makes it more pleasant to do live each day
all things in between. The process
even more thoughtfully.
was interesting at every step and was even more of an impact as a learning
best wishes,
experience after I dove into the history of clay at its roots. I am honored to have
Photography courtesy of unsplash.com
Morgan Nadin Lead Editor
E D I T O R
Photography courtesy of steemkr.com
Pottery in East Asia In early Japan, pots may have been buried in the ground for storage, largely to preserve fish. Pottery also may have been used to store grains like millet.
Pottery in the Americas People began to create pottery early in the Americas for the same reason, storage and food preservation, several thousand years after the practice began in East Asia.
H I S T O R Y
humans and pottery digging up our ancient past
P
eople first started making pottery
North Africa, around 6000 BC, near
out of clay in East Asia, in both
the beginning of the Neolithic period
China and Japan, around 14,000
there. West Asian people may have
BC, long before they started farming.
started to make pottery as a way to store
Probably people had always known how
grain when they started farming. They
to make pottery, but just hadn’t done it
also used their pots to make fermented
much. This early pottery was made by just
fish sauces for eating.
pushing a hole into a ball of clay, or by making a long snake of clay and coiling it up into a pot shape. It may have gotten started by making baskets and coating them with clay. In Japan, early pots might be buried in the ground for storage. One reason for starting to make pottery was likely to preserve fish. Another reason
Someone begins to knead raw clay, likely to find any large imperfections
by professor karen carr
The Slow Wheel By around 3000 BC, at the beginning of the Bronze Age, people in West Asia had begun to use the slow potter’s wheel. This is a little platform made of wood that you build the pot on. You can turn the round platform around so that instead of having
may have been to store grains like millet.
to walk around your pot you can sit still
Pottery in the Americas
someone who is good at using it, the slow
People probably began to make pottery in
wheel makes potting a lot faster. At
the Americas for the same reason, several
the same time, Central American people
thousand years later. People who ate a lot
invented the slow wheel. The Zapotec
of fish and shellfish were making pottery
were using it to make pottery, around 100
in Brazil about 5500 BC. Maybe they also
BC. The Zapotec kept right on using
used pottery jars to preserve fish by fer-
the slow wheel, but by 2000 BC, almost all
menting it. From Brazil, people gradually
potters in Europe, Asia, and North Africa
began using pottery further north. The
were using the fast wheel instead.
fish-eating ancestors of the Cherokee and other Mississippians knew how to
and turn the pot around. In the hands of
The Fast Wheel
make pottery by about 4500 BC.
The fast wheel is also a platform, but one
West Asian people may have started to
Pottery in West Asia and Europe
start it spinning with a push or a kick,
make pottery as a way to store grain when
The use of pottery also spread west from
and then draw the pot gradually out
they started farming. They also used their
East Asia, reaching Mesopotamia and the Eastern Mediterranean, and then
Continued on page 70
pots to make fermented fish sauces.
Pottery in West Asia
which spins on an axle, like a top. You can
atelier 2020 | 17
Photography courtesy of Helen Levi
T H E
Helen Levi Helen Levi @Helen Levi Helen Levi
M A S T E R S
Instagram's Rising Ceramicist by format.com
atelier 2020  |  25
T H E
M A S T E R S
H
elen Levi is a New York native
it is tied to the general trend of conscien-
that went from juggling four
tious shopping on a wider scale: people
jobs at once to being a ceramic
caring about where their food comes from,
art powerhouse, in only a few short years.
wanting to buy clothing that is ethically
After being enlisted to make some pieces
made, wanting to cook with meat that was
to sell at Steven Alan’s boutique store, she
ethically sourced. There’s a trickle down,
decided to take the leap, ditch the side
in my opinion, to the objects we use in
jobs and commit full-time to her craft and
our home. People seem just more curious
her budding new business.
to have a connection with all the objects
Since that pivotal moment, Levi has completed large orders of artisan tableware for restaurants, been featured on almost every “best of ceramic artist” list, and gained an impressive 128k of Instagram followers. The busy Brooklyn
they surround themselves with, whether it’s a sweater or a mug. Obviously it’s a lot more expensive to buy handmade so it’s not accessible to every person. I was so grateful to finally have the continuity of one job.
artist and entrepreneur took some time
I always struggled with balancing
out to tell us what she’s learned about
the different part-time commitments
running a creative business. I sold my
I had. Now I feel successful in the sense
first piece when I met Steven Alan at
that my work supports me and I love what
a pop-up shop.
I do but it’s been a really gradual growth—
After chatting a bit, he asked me to send him some photos of my work. I had never photographed my work before because it had always just been a hobby. But once I made that connection, I got really excited by the idea of doing that hobby as a job, and I put everything I had into making it work. The timing of that decision probably had something to do with the current popularity of handmade ceramics. I think
there wasn’t one specific moment when everything totally clicked. I would say that in the last year I have made a real effort to make sure I take a day or two off every week, because I was in a phase of working so hard that I forgot how important a little time off was.
"Since I am the only wheel thrower in my studio I spend a lot of time on the wheel." I tend to do the business/computer tasks in the morning or evening and spend the majority of the day making things. It’s really important to me to keep the parts of my job that bring me joy at the forefront of my day. My favorite part Continued on page 40
Helen Levi working in her Brooklyn studio
Photography courtesy of Helen Levi via Instagram
“Just because a thousand people like something on Instagram doesn’t mean anyone will buy it.”
atelier 2020 | 27
T O O L S
the tools to know everything you need to start your own studio
S
by jenni fritzlan
etting up a pottery studio will
and some tools on. For a wheel throwing
require some investments, but
studio, you will need a space large enough
once you have the equipment, with
to have a wheel, a work table, a clay stor-
minimal maintenance, it will last for many
age area, (ideally under the work table),
years. For the hobbyist, setting up shop
shelves to keep your work on, a sink
could be as simple as acquiring a wheel, a work table and a small shelf unit to store your work in progress. But for the serious potter, setting up shop will require quite a bit more. Before you begin purchasing equipment and tools, you will need to determine where you will be able to set up your new shop. Some questions to consider would be: Do I want to make wheel thrown pots or just do hand building? Do I have a place to put a kiln and if so, is there an adequate power supply to the location? Will I glaze my pots in my studio, or will I need to take them somewhere else to glaze and fire them?
If hand building is the only thing you want to do, an extra room in your house or a corner of the garage would be an ideal place to set up a small studio. All that would be required would be enough space for a work table (a 40 x 80 inch table is ideal), a small electric kiln and a shelf to keep your work in progress 32 | atelier 2020
Continued on page 50
Wire Clay Cutter | This tool is usually used to remove a piece from a table or wheel after being thrown.
Clay Roller | A roller can be used in many different ways, such as to smooth a piece of clay to find large
carving tools
imperfections, but is typically used to roll new clay flat.
Ribbon Tool | The ribbon tool is used to
for what needs to be carved. Usually these
carve or sculpt small areas of a piece. The
tools have a wooden or plastic handle,
metal top comes in many different shapes
making them light and easily transported
and sizes, so an artist must be careful and
as well as cleaned after use.
thoughtful about picking the correct size
Potter's Rib | The potter's rib (left) is primarily used to sculpt and shape a piece; this is very helpful when throwing on a wheel.
Smoothing or carving tool, generally for sculpting.
Needle Tool | The needle tool (right) Photography courtesy of unsplash.com
is good for fine details and is one of the best tools for signing the bottom of a piece before firing or bisque.
Loop Tools | Loop cutting tools come in a myriad of sizes, just like the ribbon carving tools. The loop tools are characterized by their large looped cutting top. Generally, this tool is used to carve of large pieces of clay off of a piece. atelier 2020  |  33
A colorful raku piece that
T E C H N I Q U E S
has cooled after firing
raku ceramics
the basics of the traditional Japanese technique
R
by beth peterson
aku is a Japanese word that can
Chijiro (or possibly his son) by the ruler
removed from the kiln. Raku requires
be translated as enjoyment, hap-
Hideyoshi. This seal was engraved with
preparation before you take on this form
piness, or comfort. In 1580, the
the ideograph for raku. Raku thus became
of firing. First, you need to use a clay body
potter Chijiro is thought to be the first to
Chijiro’s family title. In 1940, British potter
that can withstand the thermal shocks it
produce this form of ware. He developed
Bernard Leach published A Potter’s Book
will go through. Second, you will need
a low-fire pottery process in which he
in which he described his very first intro-
placed ware directly into a red-hot
duction to the process of raku.
kiln, then once the glazes had melted, removing the ware from the still red-hot kiln and allowing the pottery to compltely cool outside of the kiln.
American potter Hal Riegger began experimenting with the process and subsequently, beginning in 1958, to include it in classes and workshops he
This direct process was well received,
taught. Somewhere in that milieu of trial
especially by enthusiasts of the tea cere-
and experimentation, pieces began to be
mony. In 1598 a gold seal was presented to
reduced in combustible material once
a kiln that is appropriate for the process of raku firing. Third, you need to have the proper equipment. Clay bodies, for raku, tend to contain 30% to 50% non-plastic material, such as grog, sand, organic materials, or kyanite. Stoneware bodies do well in raku, with additions. Even though the clay body may mature at cone 5 to 10, for raku it should be bisqued, as usual, no higher than cone 04. Kiln firing like this leaves the clay open and less likely to suffer damage during the extreme temperature changes. In 1960, American potter Paul Soldner also began experimenting with raku ware. Paul Solder has been quoted, saying:
“In the spirit of raku, there is the necessity to embrace the element of surprise.” Raku kilns should be small; they also must be easily opened, with the opening large and safe enough for the ware to be removed from the kiln while still incandescently hot. There is any number of styles that can be used for raku, but in my Continued on page 64 A raku piece being pulled out of an open-air kiln
Photography courtesy of Robert Couse-Baker
atelier 2020 | 43
for educational use only morgan nadin | 2019