How To Make A Ceramic Pinch Pot

Tutorial lesson on how to make a basic pinch pot out of clay.

How to make a ceramic pinch pot.

When you re happy with your smooth round ball push your thumb into the center of it. Pull a tennis ball sized chunk of clay away from your clay supply. Pinch pot technique creating a spout to create a spout roll out a short coil that is tapered on each end. When attaching the coil gently shape an arch into the lip immediately figure 13.

1 roll a coil of clay to a thickness that will balance with the size of your pot. Next gently press your thumb into the center of the ball to create an. Next roll the chunk between your. Smooth over the join with a kidney or wooden tool.

Once you ve made the initial pinch you might need to press both your thumbs into the center to open up the pot a bit. Cut through both ends on a diagonal then score and slip the cuts end and join together. This is the basis of a simple pinch pot. On most of her forms didem starts with a 3 8 inch slab in cylindrical form and pinches the walls thin.

Cup the ball in your hand. Coil it into a ring and lap the ends over each other. This is why didem mert approaches pinch pots a little differently than the typical pinch pot technique in which one starts by sticking a thumb in a clay ball and slowly pinching out the walls until they are the right thickness. Make sure you don t push your thumb right through as you ll need to have a base to your pot.

That pushes the clay at the bottom outward widening the pot s floor without having the entire ball of clay flare outward. Score and slip the area where it will be attached and place the coil on the slipped area figure 12. Forming the pinch pot 1.