Building something from scratch is an incredibly gratifying feeling. After you have gathered up all your pottery tools and supplies, you can see how pottery making is one of the more creative ways to enjoy this feeling. Each ceramic bowl, mug, plate or decoration you create gets its own highly personal touch. When it comes to choosing the right pottery tools and supplies, consider these five facts about the art.

1. Pottery is broken down into three main types: earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. Earthenware is one of the most common ceramic materials made from mostly ball clay but with some quartz, kaolin and feldspar included in the composition. Stoneware is typically any piece of pottery crafted from non-refactory fire clay. Porcelain is another type of heated clay that tends to be more translucent on the surface.

2. Since pottery deals almost exclusively with heated clay, there are a few different ways to go about the decoration process. You can decorate your pottery clay either before or after heating it for an interesting and unique look. How to make pottery depends entirely on your own personal decor preferences.

3. When gathering your pottery tools and supplies, remember the word kiln. You will see it all over the place when researching pottery tips. A kiln is something that shelters the heat necessary to harden your pottery piece. Though this is the usual firing method, there are a variety of others to explore as well.

4. Pottery is one of the most ancient hobbies around. In fact, porcelain was first crafted during China’s Tang Dynasty between 600 and 900 CE. Your pottery tools and supplies today are a bit more contemporary, especially your pottery wheels and glazes.

5. When making your clay body, you can add numerous different additives to create a wide variety of effects in the finish heated product. Some good pottery tools and supplies to have on hand are sand and grog, which can give the body a nice texture upon completion. Grog is a type of fire clay that has been finely ground, and so like sand, it can add its course properties to the texture of your finished piece.