For Alec Hoogland, making rice bowls with wide, flared rims makes sense functionally by allowing ample room for lots of rice and fresh ingredients. The wide rim also is a great space for decoration. Alec's decorating technique of choice is transferring hand-drawn and painted images onto the rim of a bowl using templates and slip transfer.

Plaster and ceramics go hand in hand and it is what many potters use for a hump mold. Some potters prefer to keep plaster out of their studios and would opt for a bisque mold. But potter Lauren Sandler has been making hump molds for her work out of unfired clay.