Ceramics are always popular with crafters, and hand building with low-fire earthenware is a natural place to start.

With its wealth of information and images, elegant design, and time-tested advice, this beautiful book by artist Shay Amber will inspire even the most intimidated beginner. Just as in her celebrated workshops, Amber guides would-be ceramists through all the basics, from selecting the right clay body to embellishing the surface with fabulous decorations and gorgeous glaze treatments to setting a firing temperature.

She teaches how to pinch forms, create coils, make flat slabs, work with simple molds and armatures, and ornament pieces with stencils, slips, underglazes, terra sigillata, and more. Each technique is laid out in easy-to-follow step-by-step photos with projects in progress and stunning gallery images.

Amber introduces a unique, easy-to-follow method for constructing a beautiful slab-built piece, and all the necessary templates are included. A dozen projects — including a pinched tea bowl, coil-built espresso cup set, and luminous lantern showcase the key methods.

This comprehensive and accessible illustrated introduction is destined to become a standard on the potter’s bookshelf.

Shay Amber has been exclusively hand building with clay for more than 17 years. She holds a degree in ceramics from Ringling School of Art and Design, completed a three-year residency at Odyssey Center for the Ceramic Arts, and received a scholarship to Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts. She owned and operated the Collective Hand Studio/Gallery where she taught classes and curated ceramic exhibitions. Her work is displayed in galleries and permanent collections nationally.

Author — Shay Amber.

Hardcover. 128 pages. 8½" × 11" (22 cm × 28 cm).