The Beginner's Guide to Decorating Pottery - An Introduction to Glazes, Patterns, Inlay, Luster, and Dimensional Designs by Emily Reinhardt is a book sure to excite any potter looking to up their decorative game. The author reinforces the risks of silica dust and offers easy to follow guidelines for mitigating this risk. One gap that I noticed was the lack of specific information about ensuring food safe glazes are used on mugs, bowls and other dinnerware, since this is often where beginners start their pottery journey and they may assume that all glazes meet this standard.

I was pleased to see that this was a great primer on the impact of clay and clay color on this finished product. This book was an excellent jumping off point for experimenting with underglazes, glazes and other surface decorations. (I reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.) This is one book that any potter will want on their reference shelf to return to for inspiration time and time again.

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“The Beginner’s Guide to Decorating Pottery” by Emily Reinhardt is a comprehensive guide that takes you through the process of decorating pottery surfaces with various techniques. Reinhardt covers everything from glazes and gold luster to patterns and marks, inlay designs, and dimensional shapes. The book emphasizes learning new skills, having fun, and embracing imperfection.

The book starts with basic information on working with clays, and materials used for decorating. It then dives into tutorials on color theory, combining form and function, and the importance of keeping a sketchbook. These foundational concepts are essential for any aspiring potter.

One noteworthy aspect of the book is the inclusion of beginner-friendly projects that showcase the application of surface-design techniques to various simple items, such as coasters, a cheeseboard, a wall hanging, plates, and tumblers. These projects allow readers to practice their newly acquired skills and create beautiful pottery pieces.

Throughout the book, skill-building is emphasized, with tips and tricks to help readers improve their techniques and create pieces they can be proud of. The inclusion of gallery work from top ceramics artists further inspires potters of all levels.

In addition to providing step-by-step instructions and demonstrations, Reinhardt’s passion for pottery shines through in her writing. Her love for the craft is infectious and encourages readers to explore their own creativity.

Overall, “The Beginner’s Guide to Decorating Pottery” is a valuable resource for anyone interested in pottery. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced potter looking to expand your skills, this book offers a wealth of knowledge, practical advice, and inspiration. With its stunning photographs and simple instructions, it is sure to become a go-to guide for all pottery enthusiasts.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Emily Reinhardt provides an accessible introduction to surface design in ceramics. While the projects are relatively simple, they offer opportunities to play and explore. As someone who, while not a professional, has been a ceramics enthusiast for years, I came away with several new ideas to try out in my own work.

Thank you for the advance reading copy!

A beautiful and informative book perfect for a novice to begin their decorating journey with pottery! This was an extremely fun read that felt accessible.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Beginners Guide to Decorating Pottery is full of wonderful tips, practical advice and inspiration for creating stand out pieces. I feel really inspired after reading this and can't wait to give some of the techniques and projects a try! I would definitely recommend this book!

I am a potter from a long way back, I love working with clay and creating shapes that turn into objects that I rather like the shape of and/or I can use.. And there lies my problem I make shapes, but I find the decoration a little more difficult. And this is where these book has been really enjoyable and helpful to me. There are so many option like inlaying, relief designs, so many things to take into account like clay bodies, what glazes, - over glazing or luster and what color, texture and pattern. This book has great examples and information which opens up my mind to looking beyond the shape. Thanks you NetGalley and the publishers for the DRC

A fab beginners book! I am really hoping to get more in to pottery on my maternity leave and this has given me lots of inspiration!

Pottery is one of my longer term art goals and this book is really valuable to anyone wanting to start or for new ideas!

Starting out by telling of her pottery journey, Emily Reinhardt pulls you into her world and makes you feel like you were there with her. I loved the way she talked about her pottery mentors with such warmth and love. She is very open and honest with how she has gotten to where she is now. She has good advice on finding your own style and techniques that work for you. I loved the little projects at the end that you can try with your own pottery and the way that she leaves them open for you to add your own flair. Overall, a nice, cute read with good information. I plan on trying some of her suggestions in my next pottery projects.

A very great beginners guide with a lot of design ideas involving different glazes, shapes and forms. I think a lot of beginners with love this!

Hmm, yeah. Cover not enticing. You’ll have to wade through a lot of navel-gazing and what-I-did-prior-to-writing-a-book before this book gets to its actual topic.
I’m missing a lot of decorating topics/tips: dent pullers for dipping, rolling guides for even slab thickness, the use of batt wash to limit damage done to kiln shelves by runs. I’m missing the mention of car detailing tape to achieve clean glaze edges or how to reconstitute a dried glaze. I’m missing sgraffito, nerikomi, marbling, wax resist, tissue transfers, decals, spray glazing, slip trailing, oxides, stencils and textured rollers/mats and burnishing.
Gold lustre for a beginner is a total waste of money IMHO. In a communal studio environment where most beginners will start out, a special lustre firing will often not be available unless you pay for a whole kiln load.
Determining the shrinkage rate for multiple clays for inlaying is also a rather advanced technique and will lead to a lot of heartbreak when a prized beginner’s piece disintegrates in the kiln.
Sadly, only the last 38 pages are reserved for actual projects to guide the beginner - a total of 10 projects from coasters and beads to a whole dinner set.

Wonky pots with gold lustre slapped on seems to be the current trend and this book is right on trend, but if you then have to see 11 images of the same pot by the author, it gets a bit much.

Maybe inspirational for some.

I used to love making pottery in art class when I was a young girl. This book is more advanced than the first time I decorated my pieces. I want to purchase this book for my niece and friend S they are enthusiasts and would appreciate the descriptions and details the author has crafted. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars.