Clay

""Clay is a collection of fascinating fragments, from ancient myths to music made in porcelain bowls. Every vase in a museum, every clay shingle on a roof, every pinch pot in an art class could be a potential story to tell. Allan approaches this by going wide, going weird, going personal. She demonstrates a true curator's eye for picking unusual, intriguing examples."" -- ""The Washington Post"" ""Clay is a joy to read. It made me want to learn to be a potter all over again.""-- ""Florian Gadsby, potter"" ""An engrossing history of the deep connection between humans and clay, electrified by a ceramicist's passion."" -- ""Katherine May, author of Enchantment"" ""I read this book and immediately went out to buy some clay. Fascinating and powerful.""-- ""Brian Eno, musician"" ""I thought I knew a lot about pottery, but I didn't, not as much as I do now. From the earliest earthenware to the history of porcelain, along with the author's own progress working with different clays and glazes, I have loved learning from every chapter in this beautiful and affecting book.""-- ""Vashti Bunyan, singer-songwriter"" ""Jennifer Lucy Allan--an amateur potter herself--has written a mesmerising history of the practical, spiritual and artistic uses of clay, a deceptively simple material that has, in many ways, helped shape human history. Ranging across time and place, this wonderful book opens up a world of wonder. I learned so much from it--and could not put it down.""-- ""Jennifer Higgie, author of The Mirror and the Palette and The Other Side""