Ceramics Coil Technique

We start preparing clay coils by hand or with an extruder bigoli.

Ceramics coil technique.

This is the pinch used to bond the coil to the wall of the pot which is so important because it is the fabric that holds the pot together through the stresses of drying firing and whatever uses the pot will be put to. It is an extremely versatile technique that is good for beginners but can be used for great craftsmanship and artistry. Pinchpot coiling and slab techniques. Below are the three most common forms of creating hand built pots.

Coiling clay pots is a simple process of layering coils or other shapes one at a time then welding the layers together to create a solid form. Coiling is a simple technique but it can produce some fantastic pottery. Learn the basics of building coil pots with these easy to follow instructions. When making coil pottery there is no technique as important as your bonding pinch.

Pinching out a flat pancake of clay 4. Handbuilding a combination of coil carving pounding and squishing has taken center stage in the art world says adam welch an art lecturer at princeton university and director of greenwich house pottery the oldest non profit ceramics studio in the country since 1909. Use your imagination to create some one of a kind pieces. Buy an accompanying powerpoint my tpt store.

Score and slip slab and lay the first layer of coil. To make a pinch pot one inserts a thumb into a ball of clay and continually pinches the the clay between the thumb and fingers while rotating to thin. Handbuilding is working with clay by hand using only simple tools not the pottery wheel. Push the coil firmly into the slab.

It is found across the cultures of the world including africa greece china and native american cultures of new mexico using the coiling technique it is possible to build thicker or taller walled vessels which may not have been possible using earlier methods. Before potters had the wheel they were creating beautiful pots and clay forms using clay their hands and fingers and basic hand tools. We prepare first layer of coil pushing each one into the slab. Handbuilding is an ancient pottery making technique that involves creating forms without a pottery wheel using the hands fingers and simple tools.

Learn a variety of coil hand building techniques and apply them to your own clay creation.