Surface Design for Ceramics (A Lark Ceramics Book) Paperback – April 5, 2011

I just started to learn pottery for about 4 months. I have been using this book for technique ideas whenever I want to design the surface, which they do not teach at this class. I certainly could not throw a perfect pot at this early stage, but if I could do an interesting design (other than just pouring or dipping the glaze), then my enjoyment level of doing pottery will increase even more. I first borrowed this book from library, then decided to purchase it. Worth any penny.

I've never met a Lark Book I didn't like. The photos of projects in progress as well as finished projects are clear and meaningful. They beautifully illustrate the surface design being demonstrated. Each picture is noted as to type of sculpting, type of clay, technique and the surface design used. My book of full of tabs where I've marked demonstrations that sparked ideas. This is a great book for the beginner as well as someone with more experience.

This book contains a lot of different ideas and techniques which I found to be very useful. I'm a first year ceramics student and my only regret is not buying this book at the beggining of my course. I have been struggling with ideas for decorating and this book was just what I needed! Of course you would probably not use all of the ideas in this book since some seem to be only for low or high firing pieces. The pictures are nice but don't really help with learning the technique. Overall it does a good job explaining things and giving ideas for my own projects. I picked it up to read today and ive already gone through a third of the book.

This is a beautiful and inspiring book. I've been working in clay for thirty years and this book illustrates every surface treatment I've ever seen and even a few that are new to me. The explanations for how to achieve each effect are clear and simple (for the most part). The photos of the work are gorgeous.

This book is neither for the beginner nor the pro. Not enough detail for the novice, nothing new and exciting for the pro.

I am completely thrilled with this book. While it is not highly technical, it covers the topic well from an artistic slant and has lots of great photographic examples. I see this book as something an intermediate potter would enjoy immensely. Very clean, modern, thoughtful and professionally produced. Love it for the inspiration!

if you're into texture and surface design in ceramics, you gotta get this book. Not only is it extremely well written, but there are loads of techniques to try and images of other artists' work that is bound to truly inspire you. I highly recommend this book!

I got this book during my first semester in ceramics and it came on very handy. I tried many of the methods depicted inside and had great results. Really good source of information for people starting out with clay.

Another great survey of ways to decorate a ceramic surface. Gives inspiration of possibilities. By no means every aspect. But a solid foundation.

Bellissimi consigli su come decorare le superfici delle proprie creazioni. Tecniche spiegate con esaustività.Le foto sono di grande aiuto per comprendere tutti i passaggi.Spedizione arrivata perfettamente nei tempi previsti.

Just starting pottery and one look through the book proved it was all I wanted it to be. Will put it to use this coming December when I go South and sign up for pottery.

This book is mostly for hobbists who like to make pots rather than objects in clay. Although the techniques described are adaptable to other forms they are mainly demonstrated on rather dull pots. But that is nt to say that the images are dull, the photography and colour are very good, as is the layout and quality of the paper.The three star rating is based on the fact that although there many techniues described the actual information is quite short.It does not go into the use of the surface treatments in terms of design. I bought the book because I was interested what approach would be taked to describe how to compose interesting surfaces with old, new and layered techniques.For someone just beginning to make pots this book is sufficient as a starting point as it gives an overview of the many techniques, but it isjust one of many such books. If someone hasThe Complete Potter then this book is not necessary.

This book is well written and of good quality, which is what the two stars are for. In fact two stars may seem a bit mean, because the book does cover in some detail, many of the usual surface decoration techniques for ceramics.However, I like the books I buy to give me some kind of inspiration, in addition to technical knowhow. I like to admire the illustrations and think, wow, that looks wonderful, maybe I could try something similar.As I looked through the book, I became increasingly irritated to find that probably 90% of the illustrations are of work which was 'Wood fired to cone 12,(or even cone 13), 'Gas reduction fired to cone 10', 'gas/salt/soda fired to cone 10/12'. There is little that would be accessible or achievable for the middle of the road ceramic artist who is very likely to be using an electric kiln, and virtually nothing for those who low-fire from choice or necessity.By all means include wood fired, gas reduction and high fired work, but surely an across the board balance would be better. It is very frustrating to see so many illustrations showing results which for most of us cannot be achieved. In addition, I doubt very much if those ceramic artists who are experienced in wood, gas reduction, salt or soda firing, would have much use for a book on basic surface decoration techniques.There is a small section on raku - where the author was obliged to stoop to showing low fired work, and a further small section on naked raku/smoke firing, but other books such as 'Raku' by Tim Andrews, and 'Smoke Firing' by Jane Perryman, (both second editions) are streets ahead in every sense, and are highly recommended.There is a good deal of information in this book on the usual range of surface pattern techniques, but in my opinion, still the best by far in terms of content, variety, accessibility and inspiriation, is ' The Potter's Guide to Ceramic Surfaces' by Jo Connell.