Bill van Gilder Pottery
Supplies, tools and books that I use or recommend.
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Just click on the picture to get more information.
Hardware cloth for smoothing/finishing
the bottoms of pots after glaze firing
Hakame brush for applying hot wax.
Diamond Hand Polishing pads uses for smoothing glaze drips. Really cuts into the glaze so be cautious. Let the pad do the work. I use all three grits shown.
3 ounce
8 ounce
Ladles for glazing and decorating.
Japanese water bucket that I use for water at the wheel. You must keep water in the bucket or keep the bucket damp/wet or it will shrink and fall apart. We used to carry these in our webstore but it is too expensive to import a large inventory. Click the picture for more info.
BUTTER PADDLES
Here is what Bill has to say:
“You'll discover a myriad of uses for these traditional, hard-to-find kitchen tools. Add a fine texture to small handles by positioning the corrugated paddle surfaces face-to-face and rolling a small coil of clay between them. Alter the positions of the paddles to create squared and diamond-shaped, cross-hatched patterns, straight-line textures, wrap-around swirled patterns and more... Or, dip a single paddle into water and use it to slap the side of a wet thrown pot to create a random decoration. Having the right tool on hand for the job is essential. These paddles will quickly find a permanent home in your toolbox!”
TIP: To create a random "slapped" texture on a rounded thrown pot, slap the wet form when it's in a cylinder shape. Then push and belly it out from the inside, into round.
BUFFING BALLS... cleans up, rounds & softens slab edges quickly & cleanly. I use the 120 and 180 grit on bone dry greenware.
POTTERY THROWING GAUGE
EDGE ROUNDING TOOL... we no longer carry an edge rounding tool as the manufacturer stopped making them. This tool is basically the same thing. See pics in the slider to show you our old tool and how it is used.
BOTTLES FOR GLAZE DECORATING
FOR MIXING GLAZES
BANDING WHEEL
11 PC HOLE CUTTER SET
My 'go to' book! That's my well used one pictured on the left. There have been quite a few editions since.
A must have book!
John Britt has two great books on glazing. I consult with John when I have a perplexing glaze issue.
Click the picture for more info.
Daniel Rhodes book is another 'must have' book for your library.
2015 Reprint of 1957 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition. Not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Profusely Illustrated, with photos by the author. A book for the potter, student, teacher, designer, collector or industrial ceramist who wishes to know more about the materials of the craft of pottery, and the ways in which the many varied colors and textures in ceramics can be achieved. This is a practical book, and the facts about clays and glazes and the principles governing their use are clearly described in easy-to-understand form. Fully discusses the geological make up of clay, various kinds of clays and the history of the various glazes.
Learning from others' mistakes is always more efficient and less costly than committing them yourself. This book is packed with practical information that will enable potters to successfully complete the many steps in pottery production. Making functional pottery or ceramic sculpture entails different skill sets and processes in forming clay, drying clay, glazing, and firing. Any one of these steps can cause failures. As ceramics consultant Jeff Zamek points out, under ideal conditions a beginning or advanced student would be guided by a teacher at every step; mistakes and bad habits would be caught as they occurred and corrected. While such learning situations are rare today, this book fills the gap. As Zamek says, "This book offers you forty years of wisdom, generated by my students' and my client ceramics companies' issues with clays, glazes, and kiln firing." With its solutions to common problems, this guide helps potters to succeed.
"Every potter wants to work in a safe environment and needs the extensive data presented in this unique reference.
The potter's health and safety are covered in detail from ceramic toxicology to safe handling of raw materials. Guidelines for using clays, glazes, tools, kilns, and other equipment are presented. Questions such as "What's the best way to handle ceramic materials?" and "Is barium carbonate safe?" are answered in full detail. This is the safety guide that every student, teacher, and ceramic professional will refer to again and again while working with clay and glaze materials."
Every potter—home enthusiast to the art center doyenne—needs practical guidance on choosing and using clays and glazes in his or her work. Mastering clays and glazes is a feat of both art and science, and navigating everyday issues in the pottery studio requires an understanding of both fields. With The Potter’s Studio Clay and Glaze Handbook, the art and science of ceramics is explored with accessible authority and insight. Whether choosing a high-fire clay or applying a high-impact engobe, any potter’s craft will be enhanced and inspired by this book.
