Studio potters can be referred to as ceramic artists, ceramists, ceramicists or as an artist who uses clay as a medium. Much studio pottery is tableware or cookware but an increasing number of studio potters produce non-functional or sculptural items.

Do you need to prime the ceramic before painting? Absolutely! Primers help hold the paint in place on your ceramic. The primer combined with the sanding method will help the paint on your ceramic last even longer.

As a general rule of thumb, acrylic paint works best for unglazed pottery including air dry clay. Whereas porcelain paint works best on glazed pottery, like mugs and bowls you might have purchased from a shop.

In summary - what is the difference between pottery and ceramics? Technically, pottery is a form of ceramics, but ceramics covers a much broader spectrum. Pottery is very much dedicated to the making of one specific ceramic type and using one specific ceramic material, namely pots and clay.