"Ceramics education is something that is typically taught in a classroom studio, where a teacher first explains a series of intricate and subtle movements, and then demonstrates them for the students. The student then sits down at a potter's wheel and attempts to replicate the techniques, but often with less than perfect results. To help both beginner and more advanced potters overcome some of the most common frustrations, Simon Leach has picked up where most classes fall short, creating more than 800 homemade videos available on YouTube that clearly demonstrate core techniques. Lively, informative, and full of original tips and techniques, Simon's videos have lit the ceramics world on fire, becoming a must-see supplement to most potters' educations. But therein lies the hitch--most potters don't want to take a laptop into a ceramics studio, so they must watch the video before or after class and hope to remember the tip as they work. Simon Leach's Pottery Handbook is meant to overcome this obstacle, encapsulating all of Simon's basic techniques in one easy-to-carry book, from studio design and set-up to basic throwing techniques, to adding appendages, trimming, glazing and firing. Simon Leach's Pottery Handbook is perfectly suited for the studio, as it is portable, and the concealed wire-o binding will help the book lay flat and stand up. For each technique, detailed step-by-step photography captures the subtle, intricate movements that typically fly by too fast to be noticed in a video. Plus the book includes a DVD with many of Simon's YouTube videos; callouts throughout the book tell readers which video goes with each section, so they can both read and examine the technique in the book, and also watch the technique in real-time"-- Provided by publisher.

Getting started. Setting up the studio ; Clay bodies ; Handling clay -- Down to the wheel. The basic cylinder ; Cylinder variations ; Dishes -- Trimming. Trimming pots -- Assembling. Handles ; Assembling complex forms -- Decorating and glazing. Decorative techniques ; Glazes -- Firing. Kilns and firing -- Appendix. Common glaze types ; Troubleshooting glaze flaws ; Engobe, glaze, and raku recipes ; Glossary of ceramic terms ; Pyrometric cone chart. Introduction -- Getting started -- Down to the wheel -- Trimming -- Assembling -- Decorating and glazing -- Firing -- Appendix.