Some gifts you can make with pottery include:

Bottles, dishes (check for lead free clay and glazes first), candle holders, planters, pencil cans, hanging flower holders, weed holders, incense burners, plates, chargers, mugs, chip and dip trays, bowls, vases, figures, animals, jewelry, dolls, and abstract art.

Since you are making a one-of-a-kind gift for someone special, don't forget to sign and date the bottom and perhaps add their name to the design. And since there is always the risk that something might break while firing, always make a few back-ups.

Pottery has been around for a very long time and there are many ways to do it. Don't let anyone tell you there is only one right way.

Today I was on a quest to find some clay for a pit firing out in the desert. And so I had to do some clay research. And I thought there must be a lot of people out there who want to know more about pottery. I was stopped at various stores by customers who needed some help today. And I came to one conclusion. Clay is complicated.

But there truly is a clay for every budget and every situation.

I found two clays that we are going to try out in the desert. From research with our friends over at Paleo Planet, we decided we needed a cone 6 or 7 clay. So I found two types, one red and one white. The first one is called Malone Red and the second is called Hugo Gray. We didn't want to put all our eggs in one basket. Hopefully at least one of those clays will work out.

After I got home I looked up both clays on the Internet and found them here:

http://www.sculpt.com/catalog_98/clay/waterbased2.htm

If you want to try sculpture, the link above looks like a helpful site.

Many people don't have access to a kiln, and so they will need air dry or oven baked clay types. Remember to keep the bag tightly sealed when you are not using it or all you are going to end up with is a mighty funky door stop.

Most of my experience is with pottery classes in high school and college. So we had a conventional kiln and people to load, fire and unload it for us. It a way I was relieved with that, but now I'm kind of miffed. Because glazing and firing are a huge part of pottery and I was left in the dark about it. Oh well, now I'm learning from my own experiments.

I've also done some Raku firing. So I'm guessing the pit firing will be a lot like that.

Of course if it's raining when we get to Arizona all bets are off.

I recommend if you are a beginner, start with hand built pottery. There are many excellent books and videos on the subject, but by all means take a class if you can.

I will post some photos of various things I've made.