The great age of European ceramic design began around 1500 and ended in the early 19th century with the introduction of large-scale production of ceramics. In this illustrated history, with nearly 300 color and black and white photos and reproductions, curator Howard Coutts considers the main stylistic trends�Renaissance, Mannerism, Oriental, Rococo, and Neoclassicism�as they were represented in such products as Italian Majolica, Dutch Delftware, Meissen and S�vres porcelain, Staffordshire, and Wedgwood pottery. He pays close attention to changes in eating habits over the period, particularly the layout of a formal dinner, and discusses the development of ceramics as room decoration, the transmission of images via prints, marketing of ceramics and other luxury goods, and the intellectual background to Neoclassicism.

While most surveys of contemporary art focus largely on two-dimensional work, there is a growing movement of emerging as well as established artists that are producing work in the ceramic medium. The New Age of Ceramics documents that movement; accross 180 illustrations it showcases a story of the art world redefining what was previously considered 'craft' rather than art.

Written for the general reader with an interest in ceramics, Handbuilt Ceramics is a big, colorful, and complete how-to manual for shaping clay without a potter’s wheel. Features 8 projects, complete with materials lists, clear step-by-step instructions, and detailed “how-to” color photos.

"Though their work is informed by a shared sense of culture, place, and identity as women, each artist has her own unique style, source of inspiration, and approach to her craft. Daily life and flights of fancy, spiritual devotion and earthly concerns all find expression in these finely crafted and beautifully colored ceramic marvels, including street scenes and nativities, Virgins and Zapotec creatures, vases, plates, candleholders, and figures of Frida Kahlo."--BOOK JACKET.

This studio reference captures all the popular techniques available for embellishing clay, as well as a wealth of practical information and detailed images that lead readers through every phase of the design and decorating process.

The Ceramics Reader is an impressive editorial collection of essays and text extracts, covering every discipline within ceramics, past and present. Tackling such fundamental questions as “why are ceramics important?”, the book also considers the field from a range of perspectives – as a cultural activity or metaphor, as a vehicle for propaganda, within industry and museums, and most recently as part of the ‘expanded field’ as a fine art medium and hub for ideas. Newly commissioned material features prominently alongside existing scholarship, to ensure an international and truly comprehensive look at ceramics.

In his major new history, Paul Greenhalgh tells the story of ceramics as a story of human civilisation, from the Ancient Greeks to the present day. As a core craft technology, pottery has underpinned domesticity, business, religion, recreation, architecture, and art for millennia. Indeed, the history of ceramics parallels the development of human society. This fascinating and very human history traces the story of ceramic art and industry from the Ancient Greeks to the Romans and the medieval world; Islamic ceramic cultures and their influence on the Italian Renaissance; Chinese and European porcelain production; modernity and Art Nouveau; the rise of the studio potter, Art Deco, International Style and Mid-Century Modern, and finally, the contemporary explosion of ceramic making and the postmodern potter. Interwoven in this journey through time and place is the story of the pots themselves, the culture of the ceramics, and their character and meaning. Ceramics have had a presence in virtually every country and historical period, and have worked as a commodity servicing every social class. They are omnipresent: a ubiquitous art. Ceramic culture is a clear, unique, definable thing, and has an internal logic that holds it together through millennia. Hence ceramics is the most peculiar and extraordinary of all the arts. At once cheap, expensive, elite, plebeian, high-tech, low-tech, exotic, eccentric, comic, tragic, spiritual, and secular, it has revealed itself to be as fluid as the mud it is made from. Ceramics are the very stuff of how civilized life was, and is, led. This then is the story of human society's most surprising core causes and effects.

Learn the classic porcelain painting techniques from Meissen (Germany) that rank among the most beautiful and precious of all porcelain art. In many full-color, step-by-step illustrations, the author shows how the porcelain painter can create decorations in the Meissen manner. Especially popular are thirty-six flower motifs, the classic onion pattern, and green grapevine decorations.

With over 500 brilliant color photographs, this book highlights the work of 100 innovative ceramic artists who still use the labor intensive, and sometimes unpredictable, process of wood-firing. Throughout the book, artists share several examples of their work, ranging from small pots to monumental installations, as well as their stories about their inspiration, influences, and techniques. The artists also relate how they have adapted various methods of wood-firing to their own needs and environments, using fast-fire, Naborigama, Anagama, and other kilns. Kiln drawings, information about firing logs, clay, glaze and slip formulas, and wood firing resources are also included.The artwork is representative of the diversity of styles, from glazing techniques to the often unique creations based on placement within the various kilns. This book is an essential for all who appreciate or practice ceramic art today.

"This book looks at the use of ceramics as a tool for confrontation, where artists use this ancient and most plastic of media to make provocative commentaries about the inequities of the human condition. It is a massive overview of the ceramic scene from this perspective, showcasing representative artist' work juxtaposed against their statements, to provide the contexts for the issues against which they rail."--[book cover].