How to Make a Clay Flower Pot

This article will illustrate how to make a thrown clay flower pot with an attached water dish on the bottom of the pot.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Clay
• Potters Tools
• Water Bucket
• Potters Wheel
• Kiln
• Glazes

1. To make a clay flower pot on a potters wheel you need to only know how to throw a basic bowl shape and add an additional step at the end to throw the water dish.

2. The first step with any clay project is to knead the clay to get the air bubbles out. This will prevent the pot from exploding or air bubbles popping in the kiln, effectively ruining your piece.

3. Once the clay has been kneaded make the clay into a ball and put the clay on the potter’s wheel at center and make sure to have your water bucket and potters tools handy before beginning.

4. The next step is to center the clay on the wheel head. There are different ways in which to center clay. Basically pressure is applied to the clay until the clay is perfectly centered on the wheel. A traditional way to center is with the left hand pressing in on the clay from the outside while the right hand presses down from the top. To tell if the clay is centered lay both hand gently on the outside of the clay and make sure there is no movement in the clay while it is spinning. If the clay touches one side of your hands and not the other than the clay is not centered yet.

5. Once the clay is centered on the wheel it is time to start creating the form. This is where this piece will differ from a regular bowl or pot shape. Instead of starting throwing the bowl with a half inch bottom you want to leave at least an 1 or and 1 1/2 inches of clay at the bottom of the piece. This will be thrown at the end to make the water dish.

6. To start making the form take your thumbs or your fingers and begin pressing into the center of the clay to create the inside of the flowerpot. Take the hole down to 1 - 1 1/2 inches from the bottom of the clay and then begin to widen the hole for the base of the pot. Make sure you have a wide bottom for a planter so the plant will have room for its roots.

7. Take you cylinder up to the height that you want your pot or the height that your clay will allow and then begin to create your form. To widen the pot you use pressure with your fingers on the inside and use your other hand to guide it from the outside.

8. Once the bottom is finished it is time to bring up the sides of the pot. To raise the walls of the pot use pressure with your fingers on the inside and use your other hand to guide it from the outside. Work the walls of the pot up to the desired height and then begin to finish off the shape. Flowerpots come in all shapes and styles so use your creativity here to finish off the final shape.

9. After the pot has taken on the final shape make sure to round out the top edge with your shamee so you have a nice smooth rounded lip.

10. Now it is time to throw the water dish. Go back to the bottom where you left the extra clay and use your fingers to push down and in gently to separate out the extra clay from the bottom.

11. 
    Water Dish

    Once you have pulled out enough clay begin raising the walls of the dish to hold the water. Use the same technique as you did to raise the walls of the pot just make this dish flatter and wide. The bigger the flowerpot the larger this dish will need to be. Make sure when you are looking at the form that the water dish balances with the form of the pot.

12. Once you have finished the flowerpot carefully cut it from the wheel or if you are using a bat remove the bat from the wheel head and let the pot dry to leather hard. Make sure the clay dries evenly to avoid cracking. Covering it with plastic will help the clay to dry slowly and more evenly.

13. Once the flowerpot is leather hard put it back on the wheel upside down to trim the bottom up. Use your hands to gently tap the pot to center and use clay around the lip to hold it in place. Use your trimming tools to make a nice edge on the bottom of the pot.

14. 
    Hole for water to drain

    Once the pots is trimmed turn it back over on the wheel and use a pin tool and make two holes in the bottom of the pot into the water dish to allow the water to drain out.

15. Now it is time to allow the pot to dry. Once the pot is dry bisque fire it in a kiln and then glaze and re-fire the pot to get your finished flower pot.

16. The final thing to do is pick out what plants you want in your flowerpot and put in some potting soil, plant your flowers and enjoy.

Resources

• The Art of Polymer Clay Millefiori Techniques
• otter's Tool Kit with 8 Essential Tools
• Beginning Wheelthrowing DVD with Robert Piepenburg