Summary: The first step in a clay pottery project is to measure and calculate the amount of clay needed. Learn tips on how to do this correctly from a clay pottery expert in this free video clip.
Emily Owen was born and raised in Austin, Texas. Owen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a bachelor's of Science from the University of Texas in Austin with a total of 180 hours...read more
Making pottery is the art of creating earthenware vessels from clay. The process involves shaping a vessel, by hand or with tools, and cooking it in a kiln. Mankind has been making pottery since the times we first learned about fire. Ancient civilizations used pottery for all sorts of things, from storing oil, wine, and other foodstuffs, to holding papyrus scrolls, the organs of dead god-kings, perfumes, and various religious offerings. Because pottery is durable and lasts long after its creator is gone, it has helped us to learn about entire groups of people that we might have otherwise never known; these hand-crafted objects tell stories, not only from their complex structural designs, but also the carefully wrought stories painted on their surfaces, a sort of iconography of a time and place in history. In this free video clip series this clay expert will be addressing the art of pottery forming and molding the clay with your hands. She will include several examples of natural hand movements you can use to create life in your pieces as well as several creative ideas for new and interesting designs no one has thought of yet. This will make each piece you make special and unique. You will learn tricks for scoring edges of clay, attaching them and even how to apply handles to a pouring bowl. Take a look at these great videos and go play in the mud!
"A good project that you can make on the wheel is a toothbrush holder. And the way that I make mine it's got four holes for the toothbrushes and it's got this flange down here which holds the toothbrush in place, keeps it from sliding too far or falling out which can happen if you don't have a high enough flange. And then in addition to that, it's also got an area in the middle here where you can put your toothpaste or your deodorant, or whatever it is that you want to put on the caddy, in the middle. Now this project takes two and a quarter pounds of clay. So I'm going to cut a piece of clay. That's about two pounds, two and a quarter pounds. Wedge it up just a little bit and then pat it into a round ball. Now we can go to the wheel."
Copyright © 1999-2010 eHow, Inc. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the eHow Terms of Use † and Privacy Policy †. en-US † requires javascript
