How to Shape Pot Bottoms in Pottery

One aspect of pottery when using a potter's wheel is often overlooked. When a person has completed forming their vessel, be it a pot, bowl, pitcher, etc. they will often fail to form its base and underside. Such vessels just seem to look odd, as if they were missing something. Though seemingly trivial this detail is telling to skilled potters that they are looking at the work of an amateur. This guide will explain how to shape the bottom of your pots.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pottery Wheel
• Clay Vessel
• Wet Sponge
• Ribbon Tool
• Flat Loop Tool

Shaping The Bottom of The Pot

1. Begin with a completed pot on your pottery wheel, it should still be wet enough to work with. In order to shape the base or foot, hold your right hand just above the rotating surface of the wheel and press it inward to the outside base of the pot. The middle finger should skim against the surface of the batt and your index finger should dig into the pinch point of the pot, parting the clay in order to help define the exterior shape of the bowl. Let the left hand ride on the rim of the interior to keep it from being pushed inward by the right hand.

2. Press the damp sponge to the side of the base and push it upward to form a sharp lip on the underside of the pot. Keep your off hand on the inside of the pot to keep it from deforming as you exert pressure inward and upward with your sponge.

3. Lightly run the sponge along all the surfaces of the pot, both interior and exterior. This should smooth any impressions or unwanted marks on the pot.

4. Remove the pot from the batt as usual and leave it to dry until it’s hard as leather. For those unfamiliar with the term, a batt is the hard plaster, metal, or stone disc upon which the clay sits when it is spun on a pottery wheel. This should only take a few hours.

5. Flip the pot over onto a stable work surface so it rests on the pot’s mouth. Use your ribbon tool to dig a circle into the underside of the pot. It should be smooth, even, and of uniform depth. The dry clay should come free easily.

6. Use your flat loop tool to hollow out the bottom of the pot inside of the perimeter you’ve dug with the ribbon tool. Try to make it as even as possible. The hollow you’re cutting should angle downward slightly toward the center of the pot’s base. When you’re done it should look like you’ve made a very shallow bowl.

7. Wipe the underside of the pot carefully with the wet sponge to smooth any lines or imperfections the tools may have left behind. Congratulations. You’re on step closer to making pots like a professional!

Tips & Warnings

• If you dig into the underside of the pot too deeply the bottom of the pot will be too thin and crumble. Be careful not to dig all the way through the base of the pot.