Potter or Ceramic Artist
What the work is
Conceives and creates functional or artistic articles by moulding clay, glass and other fusible materials using hand-building and wheel techniques.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Designs and plans functional or artistic articles made from clay, glass or other fusible materials
- Prepares clay by kneading, wedging and conditioning to achieve the desired consistency
- Shapes and moulds the clay into different forms and designs using various techniques such as wheel throwing, hand-building and carving
- Applies glazes and other surface treatments to pottery or ceramics to enhance its appearance, and adds unique colours, textures and patterns using techniques like brushwork, dipping, spraying, or wax resist
- Loads pottery into kilns and oversees the firing process
- Inspects finished pottery and ceramics for any defects or flaws, such as cracks, glaze irregularities or structural weaknesses
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a shared artists' studio in a regional town, with a gallery space at the front. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- After weeks of struggling with a canvas, one colour finally makes the whole picture work
- A stranger stands in front of your piece for ten minutes and then asks what it means to you
- A commission arrives from someone who loves your work and gives you room to make it your own
Hard days
- A blank canvas and no ideas, with a gallery date getting closer
- A commission where the client wants something safer than you want to make
- Months of work that nobody buys, while rent and materials still need paying
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 231732, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.