How to Make a Garlic-Storage Jar Both Beautiful and Functional Garlic needs air for circulation, so always remember to add vents to your garlic jar! S. C. Rolf

Garlic-storage jars are a fun project to add to a potter’s repertoire. They present all the challenges of making a clay jar: how to make a lid that fits, how to create a flange, etc. But a garlic-storage jar for the countertop can be small, so it is a good form for trying out new shapes and surfaces. Garlic jars have some special considerations that can also add to the fun. Garlic does best when it is stored at room temperature in a dry, dark place that has ample air circulation, so garlic-storage vessels should be lidded and have vents to let the air circulate.

In this video, an excerpt from his video Playing with Form & Decoration, Part 2, Pouring & Lidded Vessels, Steve Rolf shares how he vents his garlic jars and puts the final touches on the decoration to give them character. This is a great project to give garlic a proper home in your kitchen! –Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

To see this entire project, pick up a copy of Playing with Form & Decoration, Part 2, Pouring & Lidded Vessels in the Ceramic Arts Network Shop, or subscribe to CLAYflicks and see this and all the videos in the Ceramic Arts Network Collection!

For even more from Steve Rolf, pick up a copy of Playing with Form & Decoration with S.C. Rolf - Part 1 Cups & Bowls or see it in CLAYflicks!

More on Making Jars

See this great tutorial from the Ceramic Arts Network archives on how to make a jar. Bill Wilkey discusses how he creates cohesive well functioning squared off jars.

Another great technique comes from Amelia Stamps. In this video clip, Amelia shares how to make a clay jar in one piece on the potter’s wheel.

**First published in 2019.