How to Make Pottery With Clay

A piece of pottery is first shaped out of wet clay, then hardened by allowing it to dry or by being baked. The secret to making durable and attractive pottery is choosing the right kind of clay and baking (firing) it at the correct temperature.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Clay
• Water
• Vinegar
• Extruder
• Small tools for scoring, smoothing and decorating the piece
• Brushes, sponges and cloths
• Plastic bag

1. Choose a clay suitable for the firing temperature you're going to use. The more uses you will put your piece of pottery through, the higher temperature you're going to use. For instance, a dish that is going to be heated along with the food and then washed repeatedly, need to be fired at a high temperature, but a small pot for a plant doesn't.

2. Make some slip (clay combined with water and a little vinegar) that you'll use to stick the pieces of clay together when you're building your piece. The slip needs to be the consistency of a warm milkshake. The vinegar helps break the clay down so your slip isn't lumpy.

3. Create long, thin coils of clay by rolling it between your hands and the work surface or using an extruder. The coils need to be as long as possible while still being able to work with them at a consistent diameter.

4. Create your base, then score it and add some slip to help the coils stick to the base and to each other. You want to pay extra attention to the places where you're sticking two coils to one another.

5. Consider using a form to build your piece. Lay your base in the bottom of the form and build the coils up along the inside of the form to get a consistent shape. Score each coil and apply some slip before adding another.

6. Remove the piece from the form when it is as wide as you want it to be, then use your fingers or a small tool to smooth the inside of the piece, turning the coils into an even surface.

7. Build a shoulder for the piece, if you want one, by building coils along the inside edge of the coils below until the piece is as tall as you want and the opening is the correct size.

8. Smooth the inside and outside of the piece until the coils are no longer visible. Take care not to deform the piece as you work. Use water and your fingers to finish the smoothing process, then add decorations to the piece.

Tips & Warnings

• When your piece is the shape you want and smooth inside and out, allow it to dry and then glaze and fire it.
• Don't allow the bottom of your piece to dry faster than the top or the coils will separate. Spray or wipe water on the drier parts of the piece, then place it in a plastic bag to dry.

Resources

• See videos of a coil pot being made at Expert Village.