Porcelain making, which requires delicate and precise techniques, is often seen as somewhat challenging even by those with experience in ceramics or by ceramics instructors. This book provides a careful, step-by-step explanation of porcelain making from the fundamentals.
Beginning with how to knead the clay, it introduces materials, forming, decoration, and firing through a wide range of works. It also explains detailed techniques such as clay kneading, shaping, surface treatment, and coloring, accompanied by abundant photographs.
For kneading, the book focuses mainly on the tanishi-neri method, while also presenting practical ideas such as how to reclaim and reuse clay. In the forming section, readers learn the strengths and weaknesses of solid forming and coil building while making items such as teacups, slab plates, rice bowls, mugs, bonsai pots, and assembled pieces such as kyusu teapots.
The decoration section covers a variety of techniques, including hotarude, glaze inlay, icchin slip trailing, and ceramic pigments. The author’s elegant and delicate decorative techniques are explained in detail through both photographs and text. The book then follows the entire process of creating a piece, through glazing and firing.
Accessible enough for beginners, yet detailed enough to serve as a valuable reference for advanced makers, this volume is recommended both for those who want to try porcelain making and for those who wish to further refine their skills.