A practical guide to all forms of decoration for pots and sculpture. This step-by-step guide encourages you to explore the full range of surface treatment techniques and teaches you how to obtain a professional finish to your work by suggesting an appropriate finish choice. Surface Decoration looks at all manner of surface decoration techniques, at every stage of the ceramic process and from a practical perspective explains how to achieve these effects. The book explores a variety of innovative and contemporary approaches to surface finish including sgrafitto, resist methods, sprigging, trailing, glaze layering, lustre, transfer, impressing, incising and textural methods amongst others. This is the perfect guide for any ceramic artist interested in exploring new surface decoration techniques.

Michael Simpson tells in easy-to-understand steps, according to traditional methods, how to gather and process clay, form several types of Native American pots, make designs and finishes, slip and decorate, and burnish and fire pottery without using a kiln. Simpson (part Cherokee and Yakima) was taught by Doris Blue, a Catawba master potter. Fully illustrated with color and black and white photographs.