Double-Walled Pot Project: How to Make Double-Walled Luminaries Autumn Higgins

Making double-walled pots is a complex yet rewarding process that combines precision throwing and careful assembly. In this post, an excerpt from the November/December 2025 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated, ceramic artist Autumn Higgins demonstrates how to make double-walled luminaries. 

From throwing bottomless cylinders to refining pierced patterns and ensuring structural integrity during assembly, this tutorial offers valuable insights into the craftsmanship and creativity behind double-walled pots. –Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

PS. To learn how Autumn adds her beautiful narrative decoration, check out the full article in November/December 2025 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today!

I have been working with porcelain for nearly twenty years because of the way it lends itself to showcasing my drawings. Translucency is one of my favorite things about porcelain. For the last two years I have been working with cone-6 New Zealand Porcelain (which I buy from the Clay Art Center in Tacoma, Washington). I loved using a reduction gas kiln for most of my career, but that became less accessible for me in recent years. So, I was happy to find such a translucent clay body that I can work with in complicated ways. This has opened up the option to really work with the translucency to create different types of lighting, and these little double-walled teacups can also be used as beautiful luminaries. 

Throw and Trim the Basic Forms for the Double-Walled Pots

I make the double-walled cups in two parts: one interior piece and one exterior. Before beginning, weigh out two 10-ounce (283.5-g) balls of clay. First, take one ball and throw the outer piece as a bottomless form. Make a basic cylinder, then shape it with a rib. For this cup, I am making a yunomi shape with the foot thrown in rather than trimmed. 

The second ball of clay is formed into a basic cylinder (this one is not bottomless). Use calipers to measure the exterior, making sure it will slide into the outside form. Measure the height of the inside form to make sure that it will drop almost to the bottom of the outer form but not quite. Flare out the rim a little bit so when you lower it inside the outer cup it will be wider at the top, catching on the outer cylinder’s rim, and will not fall all the way down. This way, you can join both parts and they are only touching at the top where you connect them. Allow both parts to firm up to nearly leather hard. 

Next, trim any excess clay off the outer piece (1); this can be done by hand, and then trim the inner piece to give it a rounded bottom. Then, I wrap the inner piece in plastic while I design the outer part. 

Design and Cut the Exterior Form 

I do most of the work on the outer form when the clay is just shy of leather hard—still flexible but holds its shape. This is important because if the clay is too hard it can crack while cutting out the negative spaces. 

To plan out the design, I use a dull pencil that will mark the clay a little, but not gouge a deep line into it. The key to these pierced forms is that all images and shapes that are not being cut and removed stay connected to each other so they don’t fall out when removing the negative space pieces. I make sure the holes/negative spaces are not too big and that they are distributed evenly around the piece. If they are too big, and there is little clay connecting space, the piece may warp in the kiln or dry unevenly, which could cause cracking. 

For this project, I am making a Tree of Life/Orchard pattern. Start on the bottom and use a straight edge to make four marks evenly around the foot of the cup to help guide where to draw the trees (2). Then draw the largest trees making sure the branches connect and there aren’t any stray branches that can break off too easily or warp. After all the large trees are drawn, draw smaller trees between them (3). 

After the trees are complete, draw a line around the form near the rim and another one about just above the foot (4). This creates a band around the top and bottom to hold everything together, and leaves a place to attach the inner cup. 

After drawing all the trees in pencil, use a thin, sharp X-Acto knife or number 11 scalpel blade to cut out the shapes between the branches, being careful not to cut into the branch (5). Tip: Angle the knife slightly so that the cut piece comes out easily (6). 

When all the holes are cut, use side of a needle tool to compress the corners and smooth them out (7), pressing it into each corner where two slices meet. 

Next, use a small, wet, stiff paintbrush and a damp sponge to further smooth these edges. Keep the piece damp throughout the process. The form will begin to dry out while you are piercing the wall, so it’s important to monitor its moisture. Going over the wall’s exterior and interior with a damp sponge and brush keeps the form damp enough (8). 

Join the Two Pieces to Create the Double-Walled Pot

Now it is time to fit the interior cup into the exterior cup. Score the inside rim of the exterior cup and score the upper outside of the interior cup. There is usually some adjustment needed to get the inner and outer pieces to fit together snugly. Occasionally, the pieces appear to not fit together. However, when you score the rims with a serrated rib it generally removes enough material to make it fit better, and the water/slip helps it slide into place (9). 

Once the interior piece fits deep enough, brush water onto the score marks, score some more, add more water, and then drop it down into the outer form. Press it down gently, compress the rim joint, and smooth the connection. If the interior piece is too tall, use a knife to trim it (10). Then, add a small coil around the point of connection and blend it in (11). 

Autumn Higgins is a Portland, Oregon, based artist working mainly in functional porcelain. She earned an MFA from Louisiana State University and was an artist in residence at Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis. She returned to Oregon in 2022 and maintains a busy studio practice and exhibition schedule, works as a ceramics instructor, and raises her two small children.