For more than twenty years I have been an avid and fascinated collector of ceramics.Always on the lookout for new additions to my collection, I combed the antique shops, farmhouses and auctions in small communities. Occasionally I was rewarded with a beau­tiful piece of bisque, a cup and saucer of Irish Baleek or perhaps a beautifully executed piece of jasper.I collected no particular period and no particular style of ware.My only rule was that the piece should be beautiful to see and crafted of excellent workman­ship.A Delft windmill, a Minton moustache cup or a pitcher of Spode or Wedgwood —these to me were things of beauty and worthy of a place in my collection.It might be the glaze, the line, or the feeling that a particular piece gave me in order to merit space in my rapidly growing collection of treasures.

From this association grew the desire to create something in ceramics.Something of beauty from my own hands.I learned within a comparatively short time that anyone can make beautiful and lasting ceramic pieces with a bare minimum of tools and equip­ment, that manufacturers today have taken the chance out of ceramics and that many delightful and useful things can be made in the home at a fraction of their cost.I have established a studio, created my own potter's mark (see cut) and make new ceramic pieces in every spare moment.I have found a new world.If you haven't made a ceramic item yet, then I envy you your first thrill when you hold in your hand your first piece still warm from the kiln.

I want to thank the nation's ceramic manufacturers for their help in working with me to create a really easy-to-understand book embodying the basic principles of ceramics.I especially want to thank the following: Harold C.Castor of Sculptors and Ceramic Workshop in New York City; Indiana University; Karl Martz; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; J.Z.Allen; Martin Miller of Craftools; Stevens-Lapp Associates; Ed Greenstreet of Ceramichrome; Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, Inc.; Paragon Industries; D.H.C.Kilns, Inc.; L&L Manufacturing Co.; Harrop Ceramic Service Co.: Mayco Colors.

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