Books like Ceramics by Glenn C. Nelson

A foundational reference on ceramic materials, exploring the thermodynamics of solid-state structures and processes.

*from foreword* Welcome to the fraternity of potters! Come join the company of those who fashion this out of earth and fire, who work with materials old as time itself. Explore the mysteries of the kiln whose magic changes dull mud in to objects as brilliant as jewels. Learn the secrets of the ceramic art - learn about clay. A wonderful material, clay - probably the first to which man turned his hand when he felt the urge to make things, not for hunting or for war, but just for the pleasure of creating. Out of clay he contrived those first utensils for cooking and storing food which spelled the beginning of civilization. Out of it he also made ornaments, representations of natural forms, objects of religious veneration, even books. If you learn its simple rules, clay will serve you well, obeying your slightest touch and giving tangible expression to your thoughts. It will remain plastic and responsive, changing as you command; yet when you achieve the form you wish and pass it through the fire, it will hold the impress of your fingers forever. You may work clay with machinery or you may work it by hand. The experienced potter can use it to produce articles of exquisite design whose making will tax to the utmost his knowledge and his craftsmanship. A little child can use it, also, and make things of real utility and charm. It can be modeled, pressed, or stamped. It can be thrown on a wheel. It can be made into a liquid and cast in molds. It can be carved as a solid. It can be rolled, turned, scraped, incised, pulled, cut. When hardened by fire, it can be glazed with colors, brilliant or subdued, glossy or mat. It may be decorated with designs or given a variety of textures. Its range is almost limitless. It has something to offer to all tastes. It will lend itself to all degrees of skill. It took a thousand centuries for forces of air and water working on granite rock to form the clay you work with. It took countless centuries more for winds and glaciers and running streams to deposit it in the bed where it was found. It is ready to serve you. Respect it for what it can do. If you are honest and sincere, it will reward you richly, not only in pieces of ware but in that deep satisfaction which comes from making something and knowing that you have made it well.

A practical, step‑by‑step guide to constructing essential pottery workshop equipment—from clay mixers and hand tools to various kiln types—complemented by detailed plans, diagrams and a source list.

*from the back cover* To make a pot, you need both practical technique and a feeling for clay - a working rapport. Cora Pucci gives you both. *Pottery: A Basic Manual* is the result of years of teaching and crafting, a clear, plentifully illustrated handbook that provides the novice with everything he or she needs to know about clay, methods of handbuilding and throwing, how to make and apply glazes, and how to plan and outfit a studio. Miss Pucci begins by introducing you to clay, encouraging you to explore its qualities, to test its limits, to feel as many different clays and mixes as possible. She makes you aware of the physical process involved in handling clay and helps you develop a sensitivity toward it and toward the basic form of an object, which will later be reflected in the quality of the finished pieces. She discusses the three methods basic to handbuilding - the pinch, the coil and the slab - and moves to building pots, cups, bowls, boxes and sculpture. In describing throwing, she emphasizes the importance of practicing to develop a rhythm between the potter's body and the wheel - and, as in the handbuilding section, suggests a number of simple exercises to get the new potter going. Bottles, plates, pitchers, handles, spouts - all these are covered in detail and always with the teacher's sensitivity for the frustrations of a beginner. In addition, the author thoroughly explains glazes, providing the formula for a basic glaze mixture and for colored glazes, and describing the many ways in which they can be applied. She helps you plan a studio, detailing how to buy or build a kiln (electric or gas), a wheel (electric or kick), and suggesting some procedures she has learned to keep her studio in good working order. Throughout, the emphasis is on simplicity, individuality, and a basic harmony with your materials, so that by using the methods taught here, you can go on to develop your own techniques. With Cora Pucci, you learn how to talk to clay - and how to "let the clay talk to you." Cora Pucci works, exhibits and holds classes at her studio in the Old Schwamb Mill in Arlington, Massachusetts. She has also taught at the M.I.T. Student Art Center and the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, and has demonstrated the skills of pottery for the Boston University Humanities Series.

"With the unassuming title of Ceramics, Rawson has presented a very clear, orderly and thought-provoking guide for discussion. He provides words for those nebulous, or nonexistent, thoughts that students avoid talking about in critiques, and our professional associates talk all around, using whatever art language is being worn out at the time--'Is your work postmodernist yet?' Now we have no excuse to complain that there is no vocabulary." --National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Newsletter. "There is enough material in this little 223 page book to last a long time as a stimulus for thought and work in clay. It would be an excellent gift to your local newspaper art critic and a great reference book for teachers." --National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Newsletter. "Wake up America! Here's your chance to become more literate about pottery--or 'vessel' aesthetics. This book seems to have been overlooked by many in its first printing of 1971, but fortunately this gold mine has been." --National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Newsletter. "Rawson defines a clear framework for discussing both the visual and psychological elements of the pottery tradition. The book presents a way to analyze and understand which particular elements touch or SPEAK to us across cultures and history. And there are enough pictures and diagrams to help out the less verbal." --National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Newsletter.

A manual for chemists, engineers and manufacturers circa 1921.