How To Make a Ceramic Pot

Pottery has been around for thousands of years and thousands of years, almost as long as man has existed on this earth. It started as a basic vessel type of utensil, and gradually increased to great beauty developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and has continued to be used until this day. Today, there are many artists that create great works of art out of pottery, and the wonderful thing about pottery is that anyone can enjoy making it, whether they are experienced or not. You don't necessarily have to have a lot of equipment to make clay pots either. Many wonderful pots are made by hand using a pinching method. We will show you how to make a clay pot using the pinching method. You will need a few items like a pound of clay, some water, access to a kiln, and a little bit of glaze to make your pot beautiful.

The first thing you want to do is make a ball of clay. You can do this by rolling it around on the table. Then you want to insert a finger deep into the ball, if it feels dry, then you want to add a few drops of water. Don't add more than a few drops at a time, or the clay will get too soft and runny. Next, roll it around and knead it as if it were bread. The purpose in doing this is to eliminate any air bubbles which may break the pot when you fire it.  Once you have been kneading the ball for about five to ten minutes, cut a small slice of the ball, and see if you don't have little open spots of air, when the ball is even, soft, and you have stopped seeing bubbles of air, and then your clay is ready to work with.

Divide the clay ball, and roll out a small ball and flatten it. Form that small flat piece into a circular form for the base of your pot.  Take another piece of the clay and roll it into a thin thick cigar like shape. Sort of the way children work with play dough, and then place it around your base and pinch it upward. Continue to place this thin cigar like pieces around the pot, and with moist hands continue to pinch upward until you have formed the height and shape you want.

Let the pot dry completely. This may take a few days. Once it is dry, then it is ready to be fired in the kiln. When you turn the kiln off, allow it to stay there for a day or two. Then take the pot out and paint it with the glaze, and then fire it a second time.  The glaze looks very different when it has been fired. It may even be a different color when you are painting it. So, buy the glaze based on the color the supplier tells you it will be, and not based on the color it appears out of the paint can.