Pinch Pot

I began my pot with about 1.5 lbs of clay and formed my mug creating a deep bowl and edges. I then needed to add 5 coils to my pot because he wasn’t tall enough to be a mug. I blended my coils into the pot using a blending tool and moved him to a turning stand to smooth his bumps with a sponge and rubber wedge. Unfortunately that technique didn’t quite work perfectly so I smoothed him out with a magic rock which created dimples that very quickly dried out and required rehydration. I spent 3 days wrapping and spraying him til he reached perfection and was ready to work with.

I had difficulty making my handle because they easily broke on each remake. My first handle I used a rolling technique to form almost a coil that could be used as a handle but I decided it didn’t quite look how I wanted and I was taught how to pull a handle. Using a warm bucket of water and a tube of clay, I managed to pull 3 separate handles, 3 separate times after I broke the first 2. This also allowed me to perfect the look of my handle each time getting to have extra practice with the shape I desired. After all the details and decorations were added to the mug I attached the final handle with slip, then magic slip on top to be extra strong. Then I slipped on its rose and leaves and finished the handle.

First to start my scallops on the mug, I needed to curate the right consistency of slip to be able to pipe on the clay directly. I practiced scalloping for a few days then once my pot was ready I added the scallops along the stenciled lines I made to help guide and keep them consistent. Then I made my roses by piping them on plastic wrap, letting them dry and slipping them onto the mug. Thirdly, I added leaves to make the roses look more like a flower. I started my final details using a metal push tool that squeezes the clay out into thin tubes. I used those to create the vintage look scene on vintage cakes. After letting my pot dry to fire it, I picked it up to inspect it and the thinner swoops snapped off the mug and I needed to rehydrate the surface of the mug and create new swoops. While doing this I managed to break a second swoops. After the clay became bone dry I moved the pot and the lower swoops snapped off causing me to need to redo a few swoops

Since starting with my magnets Ive become more comfortable with working with clay and keeping it hydrated. I’ve also become more skilled using different tools. I’m much more perticular about how I want certain parts of my project and I can manipulate the clay roughly to the shape then go back and edit it later or recreate it.erent