How to Make Three Cool Handbuilt Handles with Coils and Slabs
Handles can be the bane of a potter’s existence—at least they are for me a lot of the time (including … Read More
Handbuilding is an ancient pottery-making technique that involves creating forms without a pottery wheel, using the hands, fingers, and simple tools. The most common handbuilding techniques are pinch pottery, coil building, and slab building.
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 out and raise the height of the vessel. Pinching can deliver a pleasingly organic look, but can also yield beautiful, refined results.
Coil building is a forming method that uses ropelike coils of plastic clay, assembled in successive courses to build up wall of vessel or sculpture.
The slab technique starts with smooth slabs of clay that are then formed around molds or shaped by hand. Although it can be used to create many of the same shapes that are achievable on a wheel, slab building also allows the potter to create more angular shapes that are more challenging to make on a wheel.
All handbuilding techniques can be used on one piece, such as using a slab to form the sides of a vessel, and then using coils and pinching to create an interesting rim or handles. Handbuilding techniques can also be used to alter and enhance a form thrown on a wheel.
Handbuilding techniques allow for a wide range of creativity. Here, we’ll share with you some of the most inventive handbuilt work out there and give step-by-step instruction from the artists making it. Peruse through our archive of articles and videos on handbuilding techniques, whether you want to brush up on a process or start off in a new direction. And, if you haven’t already, be sure download your free copy of our Five Great Handbuilding Techniques: How to Make Pottery Using the Pinch, Coil and Slab Methods for some handbuilding project ideas!
Pick up variations on classic handbuilding techniques when you download this freebie, Five Great Handbuilding Techniques and Tools.
Handles can be the bane of a potter’s existence—at least they are for me a lot of the time (including … Read More
A banding wheel is one of my favorite tools in the pottery studio. These wonderful tools are great for so … Read More
When learning to hand build, one of the biggest challenges can be staring at that slab or lump of clay … Read More
The pinch pot is the most elemental of pottery forms requiring simply one’s hands and a lump of clay. Because … Read More
For me, one of the most challenging aspects of slab building is envisioning a 3D form when staring at a … Read More
Looking at the finished product of this project, it is obvious that it was slab built, but maybe not so … Read More
Pinch pots are undergoing a bit of a renaissance these days. Even though pinching pots is an ancient technique, more … Read More
Jan McKeachie-Johnston’s folded vase form is her translation of a Native American birch bark basket into clay. To make it, … Read More
Slab-built plates seem like a pretty simple endeavor, but it can be challenging to center the feet just right. Coil … Read More
Nesting bowls are a project I have been meaning to take on for a while. I’ve always wanted to make … Read More
Pick up variations on classic handbuilding techniques when you download this freebie, Five Great Handbuilding Techniques and Tools.