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I remember getting my first home. My mother brought, as a house warming gift for me, my old seashell collection.
She had placed them into old terra cotta pots, that she had around the house and had decorated up by painting them in different colors and patterns.
This, I suppose was the beginning in my long fascination with pottery and pots.

As you enter my home there is no question about what I like to collect, there is pottery of all types sitting in every nook and crannie.
Some new and some antique.
I'm easy to give presents to and I can usually count on receiving a new and different piece of pottery to add to my collection for every gift giving occasion.

I wanted to know just how this object of my fascination was made, so I started reading all the books on pottery that I could find at the library.
I learned that pottery has been around for centuries because people needed vessels to store and carry their food, milk and water in.
It has evolved from some very crude pottery to the now modern day sometimes very expensive pottery that requires quite a artistic know how and talent to produce.

Now, I had somewhat of an idea of what went into the history and making of pottery and I wanted to see for myself, so I started looking for and visiting pottery and ceramics shops and museums.
Museum curators are a great way of finding out about pottery, they can usually tell you a very interesting story surrounding each and every piece of pottery displayed.
I remember seeing a large pot with Indian looking symbols etched into the side of it and learned that it was a very old ceremonial vessel from a tribe of Indians on the reservation that is not too far from my home.

Pottery workers have all these strange words like kickwheel.
For them it is the main piece of equipment use in making pottery, to me, I envisioned somebody kicking their truck tires to make sure there is air in them, like my dad did every time before he left to go into town!!!
Kiln, which is a big oven that is used to harden the pottery in, but to me it sounded like they were killin something!!!
Throwing a pot is their term for making a pot on a kick wheel, to me it is aiming a piece of pottery at a wall and throwing it!!
Other terms are wedging, pug clay, pug mill, bisque, firing, glazing and hand building.

Tools that pottery workers use have strange names too.
For instance there is shredders, loop trimmers, hooks and faceting tools, paddles, pottery cutoff tools, throwing bats, throwing sticks, calipers and pyrometer cones.

Now, as I continue my search for the next perfect piece of pottery to add to my collection, I can appreciate it's beauty, knowing all the steps it took to make it.
There are no mistakes in making pottery or ceramics, it is called making a one of a kind piece of pottery and those are the most fun to find.

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Have you ever come up with a good idea while working with your handmade pottery or ceramics and thought that you would like to share it with others? You have? Well, why not send it to us and we will add it to the tips page for all to see.

Handmade pottery can be a very gratifying hobby that produces fun and satisfying results. For many people it's an enjoyable release that is created by working an inanimate mound of clay into a beautiful work of art that you made through your artistic abilities.

The best way of starting out is to take a few lessons. You will probably waste quite a bit in materials when you first get started. Figuring out how to truly make handmade pottery correctly and shape into what you want it to be can be quite an ordeal. The different tools that a normal shop will have can be fun to try. You will soon see which ones you like to use the most and then when you are ready you will know which ones to buy.

When you get all set up, just enjoy the hobby and have fun at it. Some people get pretty serious and start selling their creations at craft fairs and small stores, but others just like to create items for themselves, relatives, and friends. Whichever kind of handmade pottery you desire to endeavor, enjoy the hobby and have fun doing it.