Linda Bloomfield

Available from bookshops etc., and directly from Linda at £29, plus £2.75 p&p:

Advanced Pottery describes and illustrates the latest pottery techniques, particularly for making large or complex pots, with examples from leading potters from the UK and abroad. The book shows work from a cross-section of different studio potters and the materials, tools and methods they use. It focuses on advanced techniques, including throwing on the wheel, hand building, coiling, slabbing, making and using moulds and altering thrown work. Clays and glazes are explained in detail, highlighting the many different colours obtainable and giving recipes and methods for creating and modifying glazes. Firing techniques are also covered and instructions for building a fast-fire kiln are included. The book is intended as a practical guide to the latest techniques for potters, teachers, students and anyone interested in working with clay and glazes.

Available from bookshops etc., and directly from Linda at £12, plus £2.75 p&p:

Customers in the US - You can buy this locally from the Ceramic Arts Daily Bookstore.

A complete guide to achieving a fantastic spectrum of colourful glazes for the studio potter, Colour in Glazes looks at all the methods of achieving colour in glazes, focusing on colouring oxides in detail, including the newly available rare earth oxides. Types of base glazes and the fluxes used to make them are discussed in relation to colour response. Emphasis is placed on using colouring oxides to achieve depth and variety of colour, rather than just resorting to commercial ceramic stains. The practical aspects of mixing, applying, testing and adjusting glazes are explained. and a large section of test tiles and glaze recipes is included, for use on white earthenware, stoneware and porcelain fired in electric, gas and salt kilns. A very useful book aimed at making glazes to achieve the colour you want, and to help you broaden your palette.