This book is filled with wonderful photographs and inspiring design suggestions. As a hobby potter I thoroughly enjoyed accessing this book and am full of inspiration to try out some of the projects featured, although some are beyond my ability (but this doesn’t mean I don’t want to aspire to that level!)

Creative Pottery is a studio reference and series of guided tutorial lessons by Deb Schwartzkopf. Due out 2nd June 2020 from Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 192 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

This is one of those reference books which is lovely to look at, solidly written to a high quality, and deceptively densely packed with good takeaways both technical and philosophical. Whilst the author says it's for all skill levels, I personally feel that the introductory and beginner chapters are a little light on skill building info for real beginners and too basic for advanced beginners. The more advanced tutorials are really superlatively photographed with clear and concise directions (and her hands are NOT in the way in any of the action shots *yay*).

Each of the chapters includes one or more artist highlights and very short (but insightful) in a Q&A format. The chapters are arranged logically and progress thematically from introductory, tools and supplies, design and asymmetry, bisque molds, hand building and adding complexity/interest.

There's a lot of philosophy and prompts for self reflection and (hopefully) growth as an artist. Are some of them a bit artistic and diffuse? Yes, but I found them valid and worthwhile. I also liked the author's down to earth writing voice. The book reads almost like a class or guided tutorial session. I liked that and found it encouraging and never intimidating.

Very well made and written instructional, full of very very well done photography, high production values, and a *lot* of information for the potter. This is a superlative reference book.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Fabulous book, well written with lots of photos and instructions that could be used by both learners and experienced potters. The instructions start with a basic shape and technique and shows how with inspiration, this shape can become something both unique and pleasing to use.
Using traditional techniques such as slab, turned, coiled, mold and templates wonderful forms can be achieved, starting from simple objects to more challenging items. There are guest artists whose work are featured which is very interesting in its diversity.

Amazing projects and examples from a wide variety of potters to inspire anyone who has worked with clay. I now can't wait to get back into the pottery studio and try out some of these techniques.

This book is such a beautiful book, and very well written. It had beautiful photography- very well taken, lighting etc. The information is absolutely spot on, ideal for anyone interested in pottery. I am not a potter, so the information to me is very in-depth and interesting to see. I really want to try pottery even more after seeing the book as I feel it makes it not look as daunting as it could be. The information on the tools to use and the step by step guide on how to make the items pictured is fantastic and very well detailed.
I feel this is the perfect book for those who are interested to try or those just starting out in pottery, although even more experienced potters could probably still learn a few things.
Absolutely beautiful and thank you for letting me read this book. I would definitely recommend this!

Starting with the not-so-good bits: A bit too hippy and waffly for my liking: “Let the journey unfold in front of you as you remain open to exploring beyond the confines of what you hope will happen (...)”. Some “revelations” like: “Then (sic!) you are working with clay, water is important.” The basics, e.g. on throwing, are too sketchy for a beginner and boring for a more experienced thrower. And, is it just me or does the book’s title sound really dull and does not do it justice?
But then there are the very solid ideas of a seasoned “assembler” which made me like this book - at 190 pages a substantial contribution. Based on simple elements like a bottomless cylinder, combined with template slab shapes and handbuilding, this book opens up 3D possibilities that you’ve probably never thought of. The projects are well documented but happily not so prescriptive as to thwart any “playing” with the design idea. So, all in all, I’d recommend this book for a mid-career potter seeking to broaden their design approach.

I wanted to know how potters think and started learning at a community college. I was overwhelmed by others who were practising alot and performing very well too. But reading this book with its questions for growth threw me back to that time where I had genuine curiosity about how the form comes in the mind of a potter. All the pieces of pottery along with the inspiration pieces bring form an color to life. In the end are some patterns to make your own Creative Pottery,

Excellent resource for a beginning potter or someone looking to add to their skills. There is foundational information that makes a good review for newer potters and then the book moves on to more advanced techniques. When I took a a wheel throwing pottery class, I quickly got bored of making round objects. This collection of projects and examples shows how round pieces can be altered into other shapes as well as projects using hand building techniques. The clear instructions make these projects much less intimidating to the newbie.