John Hunter Pottery

05/24/2026

I dry plates and bowls under boxes to keep them from getting too dry on one side versus the other. And this really helps. I’ve just started doing this after 57 years of making pottery, and I’ve been trying all sorts of things. This is the first thing that’s ever really made a difference. Depending on whether you’re in a situation where it’s real humid, you might not need to do this, or if it’s really dry, you really need to do this. I’ve tried putting things in damp boxes, and a lot of other different types of contraptions to keep them from drying unevenly, like tenting them with plastic. But this works the best. And I suggest that you try it. If you’re having trouble with bowls and plates warping. What happens is they get dry on one side, when you trim them, they get thinner on the side that’s damp, thicker on the side that isn’t, and they just get uneven, and then they warp when they fire, even if you can keep them from warping when they’re drying. So try this. I think it’s gonna work.

05/24/2026

Trimming!

05/20/2026

How to throw a plate:
Making plates is quite a challenge for many potters. I’m going to show you how I do them.

I press the clay down after I center it. Use the side of my hand, open it up. Lift up the edge with a tool. You can use a curved end, or you can use a flat end like I’m doing today. Once you get it up, using my left hand, I raise it up. I taper it slightly and then flatten out the edge if I want a wider rim. This gives a real nice defined edge to it, and I usually glaze it differently than the rest of the plate. I like the way it looks. Sometimes I leave it unglazed, especially if I’m wood firing or salt glazing. I hope you find this helps. Let me know.
I make dinnerware sets. If you’re interested, get in touch with me at .

05/18/2026

How to throw a bowl.

05/13/2026

05/12/2026

Spouts

05/11/2026

Well, good morning. I’m making the tusk sheaths and the tusks on this little elephant, and then the eyebrows. That’s the final thing that I do to finish these elephants off as I make them. And I’m hurrying it and doing it really quickly here. So it should be something that you can take your time and work on it as I do this. Enjoy it. Give it a try.

05/11/2026

I am making the elephant body that I made the other day into an elephant so that it looks like an elephant with a face instead of just a little cup that’s got four legs. This takes time and planning. I’m make the trunk and the ears of this elephant, and later in the next video, I’ll make the tusk sheaths, the tusks, and the eyebrows, which finally finishes it out. I’ve been working on this for many, many years, and if you’re interested and want to buy one of my elephants, there’s a bunch of them online at www.johnhunterpottery.com. We’ll see you there. Have a good day!

05/08/2026

So, making the elephants is an involved process, and it’s taken me a number of years to figure out exactly how to do it, when to do it, when to make the toenails, when to do the tusks, and all of that takes time. So, as I put this elephant together, it sat around in the damp box overnight. It’s still wet, but not so wet that I can’t handle it. And so I’m gonna squish the legs together, and put the toenails on. And then tomorrow, I’m going to make all the different parts. I’m gonna make the trunk, the ears, and, or I may even wait till Monday, because it’s Mother’s Day this weekend. So we’ll see how that goes. But I make all the parts. The tusks sheaths, the eyebrows, the ears, the trunk, and the tusks themselves. And I put them all together so they look balanced, and they look like they’re alive. That’s the whole point. They’ve got a little life to them. They look very lifelike when they’re done. Even though they’re just still caricatures. They’re a lot of fun to make, and I lived in Africa for 25 years, got to see elephants really up close. They eat thorns, big, great big ones. It’s pretty cool. I hope you enjoy watching me make these, and if you’re interested in buying some, we’ve got some of them available for sale at www.JohnHunterPottery.com.

05/08/2026

These mugs are easy to drink out of because of their shape.