Ceramics for Beginners: Animals & Figures Hardcover – April 3, 2018

It has been my intention to take a ceramics class for a while, and when I had a chance to flip through this book I couldn't resist buying it even though I do not have any experience with ceramics (yet). The animal figures are so amazing that you want them in your life, and the instructions in this book are so easy to follow that you really feel it is within your reach to make these incredible works of art. The instructions are clearly written and there are photographs for every step of construction.The book has a lot of information for a beginner and covers: tools, safety, design, inspiration, materials and process in the opening chapters. I found the information to be informative without being intimidating. The projects seem to progress through techniques from basics to advanced construction of ceramics. This book also contains galleries of work by other artists for additional inspiration.The goat, dog and rabbit are my favorites in this book and I look forward to an opportunity to try to make something similar myself.

I'm taking pottery class again and was getting a bit tired and achy from the pottery wheel. So I decided that I'd do more hand-building this session. I found this lovely little book online at Amazon and loved it. I couldn't believe it was such a good price too.When I got it, I was excited and got lots of ideas about what I could make. I currently have made a little rabbit in honor of my bunny Dexter, a garden fairy/troll (I'm not really sure what it is!) and a cat for my mom. I was talking to my pottery teacher about it and she wanted to see it. I pulled it out of my bag and she almost ran off with it. She said she loved it and wanted to buy her own copy so I told her where to find it and she ordered on. She said it would be great for her younger students and beginners as well as more experienced ones.

This book was a great find for me. I have been working in clay for decades in both thrown forms and hand building. Ceramics for beginners connected me with clear photos to follow the techniques that are commonly known. However it showed me some ways of building in clay which I hadn't done before. It has great illustrations of the projects but also photos of works done by professional artists who did more quirky subjects using these skills. Great little book!

I have been struggling with making ceramic animals that stand for a long time. This book has already helped me so much in that area. It is for the beginner but even more advanced sculptors can benefit from what it has to offer. It presents such techniques as pinch, coil and slab. Each technique is fully described and then a project is presented using that paticular technique. The technique of using dowels or something similar on the inside of a solid hunk of clay to open it up by rollilng was very enlightening. I only wish a dvd were available to accompany this book. If I could take a workshop from the author, I would do it. In the meantime, the book will have to do.

I made the rabbit on the cover and the directions were clear (he came out awesome too). I would have liked a few more pictures with different angles to show for the step by step process, but overall it was enough to go by! I'm making the pig this weekend. I love the projects and even glaze recipes in the back. I highly recommend getting this book if you would like to learn techniques for making some really cool projects!

While I think some of the info in the book is beyond beginner level, there is a lot to learn from it. Right now I am working on the owl in an attempt to make peace with pinch pots. So far, so good.

Susan Halls is a terrific teacher. I was fortunate to take a class with her and get the benefit of learning her techniques in person. If that is not possible, this book is the next best thing. Her construction method is simple but results in forms that look as though they took ages to build. This is a very good book to have if you are interested in building forms in clay - whether or not animals are your subjects.

I actually use the book for air dry clay projects so I can teach myself and it was very helpful.

well put together..concise..step-by-step ideas, clear photos

I bought this as a present for my wife who is into ceramics. She loves it.

Libro gradevole con molti esempi e spunti per la modellazione di piccole sculture a soggetto animale. Buono il rapporto qualità-prezzo.

I have had the pleasure of being taught by Susan Hall as a visiting lecturer at Canterbury Christchurch university uk. This book is like have her teaching you in class, full of ideas and enthusiasm for working with clay it is a masterclass in book form and is definatly a must have. the photographs are clear easy to follow and the tone of the book is encouraging, informative and overflowing with Suzy's boundless energy and passion for what she does. the projects help you build on techniques skills learnt and this book will take you from setting up your working area to firing your work and just about everything in between. nothing has been left out in this book it has been well thought out and worth the wait for it to be published. useful to beginners and more advanced ceramic artists alike I can see myself refering to it often.

Lots of ideas to try with clear instructions and good photos so you can see what to do. You can apply the same techniques to make different things too and it contains photos of what other people have made based on these techniques.