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Material Matters
Learn the science and artistry behind the materials that shape your ceramic practice, from geological origins to finished glazes.
Understanding how and why clay and glazes work (or don’t) is a fundamental skill needed by all potters and ceramicists. Material Matters reveals the science and technology involved in making and firing ceramics, explaining the property and behaviour of various raw materials based on their underlying chemistry. Suitable for both amateur and experienced potters, the topics explored include raw materials, clay types, slips, glaze development, colourants and firing techniques – as well as the safety and sustainability tips you’ll need along the way.
Supported by full colour illustrations, photographs, charts and graphs, and written by ceramic arts professor Linda Swanson and glaze expert Linda Bloomfield, Material Matters is the essential guide to working confidently with ceramics.

Material Matters

  • Linda Swanson and Linda Bloomfield

    Learn the science and artistry behind the materials that shape your ceramic practice, from geological origins to finished glazes.
  • Rights Sold

    All Rights Available

     

    Chinese Simplified and Complex rights exclusively represented by Copyright Agency of China

  • Book Details

    Imprint: Herbert Press
    Publication Date: 30-07-2026
    Format: Hardback | 246 x 189mm | 240 pages
  • About the Authors

    Linda Swanson is an artist whose interests are grounded in the metamorphic nature of ceramic materials and processes. Her works have been exhibited around the United States, Canada and Europe with recent exhibitions in Paris, Bucharest, Chicago and Milwaukee. Linda Bloomfield trained as a materials scientist before fulfilling her dream of becoming a potter. She has made thrown porcelain tableware in her West London studio since 2003 and sold her ranges to retailers such as Liberty and Harrods.
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  • Please contact the Bloomsbury Team.

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