By Hand Ceramics

By Hand Ceramics The Studio page for By Hand Ceramics by Dan Sommerfeld.

Porcelain, slipcasting, handbuilding, extruding, salt firing, wood firing, votives, tumblers, cups, vases, forms.

05/18/2026

Trying Out Some New Techniques. After a workshop with the last month I decided to give image transfer a try on my slipcast greenware. I may have went a little overboard.

05/11/2026

My latest composition: 5399.

Far from perfect but it felt right (finally) today.





04/17/2026

I decided on some studio upgrades this spring including some snap fit tool storage bins. The system has 3d printed ends that snap over the PVC pipe and three wood dowels for the main structure. I can make specific bins to hold niche tools now.

I may be a mad scientist! I ran out of one of my ingredients for my porcelain so I decided to do something different usi...
04/04/2026

I may be a mad scientist! I ran out of one of my ingredients for my porcelain so I decided to do something different using only ingredients I had on hand. I've developed a new wood fire body for this season, mixed up the batch, and then I decided to go one step farther. I have a couple bags of Redart and Goldart so I am mixing 8% of each separately so I'll have three different bodies to play with!

More to come

ceramics process slipcasting

Some inspiration from a trip from Northern France to Barcelona this December! ceramics process slipcasting
12/26/2025

Some inspiration from a trip from Northern France to Barcelona this December!

ceramics process slipcasting

Around the holidays I always design a new ornament to make on my 3D printer. 3D printers allow me to design ornaments th...
12/14/2025

Around the holidays I always design a new ornament to make on my 3D printer. 3D printers allow me to design ornaments that would be difficult if not impossible to be made any other way. You can find the new design along with prior designs at Root in Fennville and at Brewery Outré in Kalamazoo.

Happy Holidays!

Around the holidays I always design a new ornament to make on my 3D printer. 3D printers allow me to design ornaments th...
12/14/2025

Around the holidays I always design a new ornament to make on my 3D printer. 3D printers allow me to design ornaments that would be difficult if not impossible to be made any other way. You can find the new design along with prior designs at Root in Fennville and at Brewery Outré in Kalamazoo.

Happy Holidays!

It's been a long road. The table here represents my finished work thus far this year minus Neo's football. 3 wood firing...
11/06/2025

It's been a long road. The table here represents my finished work thus far this year minus Neo's football. 3 wood firings separated into quadrants with the upper right being the Spring KIA Anagama firing and the Tatsu firings Spring and Fall counterclockwise. The right close quadrant is ongoing work in Soda Firing to finish the year.

Here is a tumbler from yesterday's unloading of Tatsu at Khnemu Studio. This is my woodfire body with a coating of my po...
10/05/2025

Here is a tumbler from yesterday's unloading of Tatsu at Khnemu Studio. This is my woodfire body with a coating of my porcelain slip put on while green. Once bisqued I taped and sandblasted through the porcelain to expose the woodfire clay. The piece was then glazed with my black engobe and then soda soaked with a spray of shino in the inside for some added depth.

In the photo where the flame hit the body both clays are similar in color but on the backside the difference between the bodies is obvious with the porcelain staying white while the woodfire body blushes orange.

I would have loved to examine this piece closer, however a visitor bought this piece along with one of my bowls on the spot.







While waiting for the fall opening of Tatsu here are a couple highlights from the spring woodfiring.
09/29/2025

While waiting for the fall opening of Tatsu here are a couple highlights from the spring woodfiring.

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Kalamazoo, MI
49009

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