How to Throw and Facet an Agateware Pitcher Haakon Lenzi

Making agateware on the wheel is not only an exciting way to make stunning, one-of-a-kind pieces, but it's also an opportunity to tell your customers a visual story of how clay moves during wheel throwing.

In this post, an excerpt from the June/July/August 2025 issue of Ceramics Monthly, Haakon Lenzi takes us inside the making of one of his signature pieces: a faceted agateware pitcher. Haakon walks us through each step, from throwing and faceting on the wheel, to trimming and attaching the handle. –Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

PS: If you'd like to learn how Haakon colors his clay, check out the full article in the June/July/August 2025 issue of Ceramics Monthly. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today!

Layering Clays to Throw Agateware on the Wheel

To begin making agateware, lay out similar-sized balls of stained clay (1). Cut cross-sections of each and begin stacking them, slamming them together to prevent air bubbles (2, 3). Once combined, pick the whole thing up and drop it a few inches off the table, then rotate and repeat until you’ve gone all the way around,

sealing off all of the seams. Then throw the clay towards yourself, rotate, and repeat to stretch it out into a log. From there, cut it up into smaller pieces to be thrown on the wheel (4). Make sure the clays are all the same consistency before throwing. This can be achieved by wrapping the combined clays in plastic and allowing it to sit overnight.

Throwing Agateware on the Wheel

To throw on the wheel, ensure the layers of clay are stacked vertically, like books on a shelf, so the clays form a spiral in the finished pot. While centering, don’t cone up and down more than three or so times, otherwise the clays will blend together. Likewise, if you make too many pulls you will lose the swirling agateware effect. While centering and throwing, the colors will blend together on the surface (5). Don’t worry, the pattern is still there and will be revealed with a metal rib at the end of the pulling process (see 13).

Making a Faceted Agateware Pitcher

To make this faceted pitcher, throw a thick cylinder, accounting for the clay removed by the cheese slicer. Throwing a pot that is both thick and even can be more challenging than expected. Use a pin tool to ensure the wall thickness is even by sticking it through the wall until it hits your finger at various points on the cylinder (6). Just as when you check the bottom thickness of your pot, the holes will close up once you run a finger or rib over it.

Use a metal rib to remove excess moisture and reveal the pattern (7). To create the facets, start at the top of the cylinder and drag a cheese slicer down quickly without stopping (8, 9). Use your bat pin as a registration guide. I have a little saying when altering on the wheel, “Let the bat pin be your guide!” Spin the wheel 180 degrees until you are at the other bat pin and repeat the cut with the cheese slicer. Proceed to make your third and fourth cuts in between the first two, so that you end up with four symmetrical facets. Finally, cut the last four facets in between the original four and you should have a symmetrical eight-sided pot (10). The faceting creates a stunning effect similar to marbled paper.

Then use a wooden rib with round edges to shape the pot from the inside (11, 12). If unfamiliar with this technique, feel free to just use your hand, but the rib allows for shaping with no added water. I like to brace my right elbow into my core and then touch my right hand to my left bicep or anywhere on my left arm to act as an anchor during the one-handed shaping process.

Once shaped, immediately make the spout by holding the rim with your left hand and two dry fingers (13). With your right hand, wet your pointer finger and cradle it back and forth to create a spout. If the tip of the spout is below 90 degrees from the rim, the spout should theoretically not drip.

After allowing the pot to dry, use a sharp trimming tool to both remove some weight and make the agateware pattern appear more graphic (14). If the clay is too wet, the trimming tool will smudge up the surface. If the pot gets too dry, consider rehydrating.

Adding the Handle

Use black porcelain to make the handle with whatever handle-making method you prefer (15). For this pitcher, I pulled the handle from a lug of clay. After pulling, the handle should be dry to the touch, yet still plastic, perhaps the same consistency as clay out of the bag. Score and slip both the top of the handle and the pitcher. Attach with some pressure and a wiggle (16), then immediately bend the handle into shape. Score, slip, and attach the bottom of the handle (17). The last finishing touch is a traditional pottery move, run a wet thumb back and forth at the bottom of the handle to create a groove, which serves as a visual anchor (18).

Notes on Simplifying the Process

• If your studio has multiple clays that fire to the same temperature, have a similar shrinkage rate, and have contrasting colors, experiment with them. Make sure to test before investing time into multiple finished pieces.
• When making your own colored clay, you can use any white clay, it doesn’t have to be porcelain.
• Try mixing only one colored clay as a start. When combining with white clay, cut each ball into three cross-sections (six once combined).
• Try mixing up 2–3 pounds instead of 10+ pounds. It will go surprisingly far.
• Save your agateware reclaim and use that when making your black clay or a mystery color (usually brown).

Finishing

Once bisque fired, sand the pot with a 200-grit wet sanding pad/sheet. The exterior is then left unglazed to showcase the agateware surface while the interior is glazed with a liner. After the glaze firing, wet sand again to ensure a smooth surface. Start with 200 grit and work your way up 500+ grit if you’re up for it.

the author Haakon Lenzi is a lifelong New Yorker. He maintains an active studio practice out of his East Harlem studio, where he produces his signature Lenziware pots. To learn more, visit www.haakonlenzi.com.