Blog
A Pottery Workshop in Prague: Building Vases with From Fran Templates at KERA Studio
|Fran Aldea
From Fran pottery templates have made their way to the Czech Republic. KERA Studio is now using them in handbuilding workshops in Prague and Brno, including its Vases and Sculptures...
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Underglaze Crayons on Black & Red Clay: My Test Results
|Fran Aldea
I tested AMACO Underglaze Chalk Crayons on black and red stoneware to see which colors stayed visible after firing, which became muted, and how clear glaze changed the results.
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How to Use AMACO Underglaze Crayons on Bisque
|Fran Aldea
I use AMACO Underglaze Chalk Crayons to draw directly on bisque-fired pottery, then finish the pieces with clear glaze and fire to cone 6. In this guide, I share which...
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How to Make Pottery Without a Kiln: Burnishing Clay at Home
|Fran Aldea
You do not need a kiln or ceramic glaze to make a beautiful clay vessel at home. In this guide, I show how I use natural greda clay, burnish it...
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Can You Get a Ceramic Glaze Made in Any Color?
|Fran Aldea
Can you get a ceramic glaze made in a specific color? I tested five custom glazes formulated by Ware and fired them on my own handbuilt ceramic forms. Here’s what...
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Slab Building Pottery Templates: A Complete Library for Beginners
|Fran Aldea
I put together a library for anyone who wants to build with slabs. No wheel, no guesswork, just the templates, clips, and notes I reach for in my own studio....
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How to Scale Pottery Templates to Any Size (PDF Tiling Guide)
|Fran Aldea
Learn how to scale and tile your pottery PDF templates using Adobe Acrobat's Poster mode. Step-by-step guide for potters printing at any size.
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Copyright Infringement of My Pottery Templates and Slab-Building Videos: A Documented Case
|Fran Aldea
A documented case of my original slab pottery videos being repeatedly copied and used in Meta ads to sell competing pottery templates and ceramic templates without permission.
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Gold Luster Decals on Pottery: Cut-Out Shapes Step by Step
|Fran Aldea
Gold luster decal sheets are a cleaner, more reliable alternative to liquid luster paint. You cut the shapes you want from a single sheet, soak them, apply them to an...
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Clay Body Combinations: Weaving, Grids, and Speckles
|Fran Aldea
Part three of the clay body combinations series. This round covers checkerboard grids, woven coil patterns, and adding speckles with Basalt Black sand — plus one cracked vase and what...
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The Mug Trio: 3 Slab Mug Templates Inspired by Ancient Met Cups
|Fran Aldea
Every pottery mug template starts somewhere. Most start in a sketchbook. These three started in a museum. Swan, Cocoon, and Drum are the three slab-built mug templates in The Mug...
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Make a Vase Without a Pottery Wheel – Step by Step
|Fran Aldea
You don't need a pottery wheel to make a vase. You can even make one from home. What you need is a slab of clay, a few basic tools, and...
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Clay Body Combinations: More Experiments, More Results
|Fran Aldea
If you read the first post in this series, you know the main rule I keep coming back to: stay within the same supplier. Everything here is Standard Ceramics, fired...
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How to Use an Underglaze Pencil for Thin, Clean Lines
|Fran Aldea
Not all underglaze pencils are the same. I've had poor results from unbranded pencils sold on Amazon, they're soft, gritty, and nearly impossible to sharpen to a real point. My...
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Pottery Without a Wheel: Everything You Can Make with Slab Building Templates
|Fran Aldea
There is a version of ceramics that does not require a wheel. It predates the wheel by thousands of years, and it is, arguably, more expressive for it. Slab building...
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Slab Building Lesson Plan: Espresso Cup Set for Beginner Classes
|Fran Aldea
A good beginner slab building class needs three things: a project every student can finish in one session, a clear picture of the result before anyone touches clay, and a...
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Están usando mis videos de cerámica sin autorización — From Fran
|Fran Aldea
Desde hace años creo tutoriales, videos educativos y plantillas para cerámica a través de mi proyecto, From Fran. Gran parte de mi trabajo consiste en diseñar formas originales, desarrollar plantillas...
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Clay body combinations for marbling: everything I've tested
|Fran Aldea
The most useful thing I can tell you before anything else: when mixing two clay bodies for marbling, stay within the same supplier. A Standard stoneware with a Standard porcelain....
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How to Print Your Pottery Templates (So They Come Out the Right Size)
|Fran Aldea
For the best results, please follow these steps before printing: 1. Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) Visit get.adobe.com/reader and install the free version. Avoid printing directly from your browser or...
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How to Calculate How Much Mason Stain to Add to Clay
|Fran Aldea
One of the most common questions I get from people who are new to working with colored clay is not which stain to use, but how much of it to...
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How to Use Mason Stains in Clay: A Percentage Guide for Handbuilders
|Fran Aldea
The percentage question is the one I get asked most often, especially by people working through the FromFran booklets for the first time. The answer is not as simple as...
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Clay Body Compatibility Guide
|Fran Aldea
This chart organizes the most common bodies from Standard Clay, Montesa, and SIO-2 into compatibility groups, so you can quickly see which ones can share a build. Use the tabs...
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Booklet Nº3: Three New Slab Building Pottery Templates for Vases
|Fran Aldea
The FromFran booklet series has a new installment, and this one is the most sculptural yet. Booklet Nº3 isn't a single product — it's a collection of three individual vessel...
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How to Make a Tea Cup
|Fran Aldea
Last week I showed the full build for the Daily Vessels tea cup, start to finish. This week: what happens after it dries. Bisque Firing Once the piece is bone...
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Pottery Template Booklet Nº1
|Fran Aldea
Are you a ceramics maker who loves handbuilding and work with slabs? Do you want pottery templates that feel intuitive, practical, and fun to use?
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How to Use Mason Stains in Ceramics?
|Fran Aldea
Are you looking to add vibrant, consistent colors to your ceramic projects? Mason stains are the perfect solution for potters of all skill levels. In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk...
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3 Ways to Add Color to Clay: Tint, Sgraffito, and Glaze
|Fran Aldea
When it comes to decorating clay, there is more than one way to bring your ideas to life. Some artists paint on the surface, others build color directly into the...
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Gold Luster Review: Duncan, New Mexico Clay, Laguna & Colorobbia
|Fran Aldea
After 10+ years of working with gold luster, I've developed some strong opinions about what works and what doesn't. Recently, I put three popular gold luster brands head-to-head in a...
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How to Start Slab Built Mugs
|Fran Aldea
Before you start rolling out clay or cutting with a template, there are a few foundational steps that will make your slab-building process smoother and more enjoyable. This guide covers...
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Two Free Pottery Templates: A Christmas Tree Template and a Simple Slab Planter Template
|Fran Aldea
If you're new here, welcome. I'm Fran, and I use clay as my canvas to create patterned slabs and handbuilt forms. Every month, I release a free pottery template you...
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Pottery Templates for Clay Slab Projects: The Core Slab-Building Technique
|Fran Aldea
If you've ever wanted to build pottery with clay slabs but weren't sure where to start, I want to show you something that changed the way I work. You don't...
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Pottery Templates for Clay Slab Projects: Hand-Build with Confidence
|Fran Aldea
Looking for an easier way to build consistent, beautiful pottery by hand? Pottery templates are the ultimate tool for clay slab projects, and here's why I swear by them. View...
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My Skutt Firebox 8×6 Mini-Kiln: Small But Mighty for Home Ceramic Studios
|Fran Aldea
As a ceramic artist juggling new motherhood and limited studio space in New York, finding the right kiln became essential to maintaining my creative practice. The Skutt Firebox 8×6 Mini-Kiln...
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How to Apply Underglaze Pencil Lines on Bisque
|Fran Aldea
If you love working with underglaze pencils (like my favorite Pasler!), you'll know sharp tips make all the difference. But keeping them smooth and smudge-free on bisque can be a...
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How To Use Wax Resist On Pottery Bisque?
|Fran Aldea
Today, we are going to learn how to use wax resist on pottery. What materials do you need? BrushBisqueWax resist Wax resist is a great material if you are planning...
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Pottery Classes NYC - Reviews and Recommendations
|Fran Aldea
I have been making ceramics in New York City for years, and in that time I have tried a lot of studios. Some were great, some were not. This is...
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Pottery Supplies Store NYC - Blick Art Materials
|Fran Aldea
I often get asked where to find pottery supplies in NYC when people come to visit. There are a few physical ceramic shops where you can find pottery supplies, but...
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How I Built 3 Pottery Tools with AI (Without Knowing How to Code)
|Fran Aldea
I'm excited to share how I recently created three specialized pottery tools using AI assistance, despite having zero coding experience. These tools have significantly streamlined my workflow and might help...
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How to Calculate Kiln Firing Time
|Fran Aldea
I get asked frequently about timing for bisque, glaze, and luster firings in my Skutt Firebox mini kiln. With my memory not being as reliable as it once was, I've...
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How I Made 400 Pottery Mugs per Month
|Fran Aldea
I still remember the feeling of relief when I first started using templates consistently. It wasn't just about making more, it was about enjoying the process again. At my busiest,...
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How To Apply Gold Luster?
|Fran Aldea
Have you ever wondered how some ceramics have gold on their surface? In this video, I will show you how to apply gold luster to an espresso cup and saucer. The...
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Desmoldante Para Yeso
|Fran Aldea
A principios de año tuve que aprender a hacer moldes en 1 día. Tengo que confesar que nunca me había preocupado de esta parte del proceso y era completamente ignorante...
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Cursos de Cerámica en Santiago, Chile
|Fran Aldea
Antes de buscar clases de cerámica o taller de cerámica en Santiago es bueno saber que existen 3 técnicas de construcción: torno, modelado a mano y vaciado en moldes. Cada...
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AI Generated Experiment with Ceramics
|Fran Aldea
For the past few weeks, I have been isolated in my apartment with my husband. We moved from Santiago, Chile to New York three years ago, and we never had...
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