We’re all balancing varying facets of our lives—and it can sometimes leave me feeling a little fragmented. Through the years, it also seems like I’m just adding layers of complexity–in my life and in my artwork. I’ve become a middle school art teacher, a father, a husband, and several other things on top of my creative identity as an artist. And often, the kind of artworks that I’m interested in pursuing are process heavy, involving the development of new tools and strategies, countless hours of research, and a lot of trial and error.
My candlestick sculptures, however, are the result of a kind of reprieve from these pressures. I create them as an exercise in play, with very few tools and very few rules. I’m making this tutorial, not as instructions on how to make them as I do, but instead as a window into a playful process for making with clay that may be transferable into your own practice. When the weight of your expectations is a little too much, I’d suggest a couple days of play.
Step One: Conceive/Define
First, I set the goal of defining the object that I want to make:
I’ve decided, rather simply, that it’s a “candlestick,” which I’ll say is a holder for a single tapered candle.
It needs a sturdy base, so that it is not prone to tipping over, and it needs a stem with a cup that is appropriately sized so that a candle will fit snugly and remain vertical.
I also like to add a handle separate from the stem, not so much for function, but as one more opportunity to play with form.
I think of the base as a landscape, and the stem and handle as elements that live in that landscape and interact with their environment and one another.
We’ll also define the method of working:
The process will highlight the hand and clay. I use very few tools (knife, wire, scoring tool, and brush).
I loosely and quickly create some forms from wet clay with the only firm rule being that I’m thinking about thickness—I try to make sure there’s no clay that is (much) thicker than my thumb.
These initial forms only need to have the potential to be components for candlestick sculptures (base, stem, or handles); we won’t necessarily use them all (1).
Remember, we’re here to play, and to capture that play in the work, so don’t fuss. Before assembling the separate parts, I allow them to firm up slowly and evenly under cloth. I may come back several times to flip and fine-tune the forms while they are drying. When they firm up to be strong enough to hold their shape against gravity but can still be manipulated by hand, we’ll do the more precise work, like making the hole that the candle sits in, and then complete the final assembly.
Step Two: Forming and Refining
Stems. To make the stems and even some of the handle elements, start by creating a very coarse coil. Cut a block of clay and hold it so that it hangs from one hand, compress with your other hand to thin and lengthen a coil (2). I like the effect of compressing and digging my fingers deep into the clay. This also thins the clay to help with drying and firing, while preserving a little more visual weight.
Bases. The bases are a little more varied. Here are three base possibilities. The first is a quick and simple pinch pot (3, 4). The second is cut from a block of clay that I insert my thumbs to expand and pinch out similarly to a pinch pot (5, 6). The third is cut using a wire to create a slab and then it is stretched, torn, and warped (7, 8). Combining just a few simple actions in different ways can create limitless possibilities.
Handles. I make some tidy handles that start with a more neatly rolled coil, which I flatten by pressing with my thumb, starting at one end and working toward the other. I hold one end slightly elevated off the table so the coil is able to lengthen freely as I sequentially compress it with my other thumb, starting at the opposite end (9). I go back to the handles several times while they firm up to further refine them. Even though I’m not sure of the exact handle that I’m going to make, I arch or coil these pieces when they are wet so they’ll be less prone to cracking after they have stiffened up and I start to refine the shapes (10).
I lay my wet-formed pieces under a thin cloth and sometimes a thin layer of plastic to firm up slightly. The edges tend to dry more quickly so rotate them a few times during this process. Each time I rotate them, I look them over and refine them a little. At this stage, I’m trying to dry them to be firm, but I still want them to be able to take an impression from my fingerprint if I press hard.
One thing I love about clay is how it responds to touch, and how that response changes as it is handled at varying stages of drying. Wet clay is quick to compress and neatly takes the impression of my fingerprints, but it has very little bones and cannot stand on its own. As the clay begins to dry, it starts to gain the ability to stand against gravity. Likewise, the mark of tools in wet clay can seem muddled compared to the precision mark that can be achieved on a piece of clay that has dried to the consistency of an aged cheddar or even Parmesan (I find cheese comparisons for clay hardness are far more useful than ambiguous terms like “leather hard”).
Step Three: Assembly
This is the part I enjoy the most. If all of the components are appropriately firm (aged cheddar), then this process can be quick, fun, and full of discovery. Today, I’m set up to make maybe 3–4 candlesticks, but I often set myself up for a dozen or more.
I start by inspecting the coils, looking for sections that are a good length for making stems. I do think about this a little and search for sections that interest me. Holding the coil snuggly in your left hand, pat it from the top a few times with your right hand to thicken and expand the top, like a mushroom. I have designed a simple tool to stamp into the clay to make the right-sized hole for the candles that I’m working with. It is 3D-printed plastic, but could easily be whittled from a small stick. The important part is that it is scaled appropriately so that when the clay shrinks in drying and firing, a candle will fit the hole. I like a tapered hole so that the candle can wedge in firmly and stay upright.
Press the tool into the clay to form the cup that the candle will sit in (11). Care is taken to make the hole as near perfectly vertical as possible (12). I will use this tool again to check the vertical orientation as the final step after assembly.
Finally, the bottom of the stem is pinched to form a point, which will make a strong attachment through the base (13). To attach to the base, cut a hole all the way through that is the right size to insert the point. When working with clay that is this firm, I always score and apply slip to both sides, and then compress the joint together firmly (14). Compressing the junction is the key to making the connection strong in the wet phase (15), so that we can move quickly with the rest of the assembly.
Since the handle coils are the thinnest of all the components that were built initially, I’ve paid careful attention to ensure they don’t dry out more than the other pieces, and I refine their shape while the clay can still bend well without cracking. With all of the attachments, remember to score, apply slip, and most importantly, compress the junction (16).
Finally, fine-tune the piece by removing the slip that was squeezed out of the seams—or leave it if it looks good! And, carefully dry them under a thin towel until they are ready to be bisque fired.
Keith Simpson is a ceramic artist and educator whose work combines clay’s primordial substance with richly textured, polychrome-glazed surfaces. He earned a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from The Ohio State University. Simpson has taught at Pratt Institute, Alfred University, and currently at Greenwich Country Day School.
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We’re all balancing varying facets of our lives—and it can sometimes leave me feeling a little fragmented. Through the years, it also seems like I’m just adding layers of complexity–in my life and in my artwork. I’ve become a middle school art teacher, a father, a husband, and several other things on top of my creative identity as an artist. And often, the kind of artworks that I’m interested in pursuing are process heavy, involving the development of new tools and strategies, countless hours of research, and a lot of trial and error.
My candlestick sculptures, however, are the result of a kind of reprieve from these pressures. I create them as an exercise in play, with very few tools and very few rules. I’m making this tutorial, not as instructions on how to make them as I do, but instead as a window into a playful process for making with clay that may be transferable into your own practice. When the weight of your expectations is a little too much, I’d suggest a couple days of play.
Step One: Conceive/Define
First, I set the goal of defining the object that I want to make:
We’ll also define the method of working:
Remember, we’re here to play, and to capture that play in the work, so don’t fuss. Before assembling the separate parts, I allow them to firm up slowly and evenly under cloth. I may come back several times to flip and fine-tune the forms while they are drying. When they firm up to be strong enough to hold their shape against gravity but can still be manipulated by hand, we’ll do the more precise work, like making the hole that the candle sits in, and then complete the final assembly.
Step Two: Forming and Refining
Stems. To make the stems and even some of the handle elements, start by creating a very coarse coil. Cut a block of clay and hold it so that it hangs from one hand, compress with your other hand to thin and lengthen a coil (2). I like the effect of compressing and digging my fingers deep into the clay. This also thins the clay to help with drying and firing, while preserving a little more visual weight.
Bases. The bases are a little more varied. Here are three base possibilities. The first is a quick and simple pinch pot (3, 4). The second is cut from a block of clay that I insert my thumbs to expand and pinch out similarly to a pinch pot (5, 6). The third is cut using a wire to create a slab and then it is stretched, torn, and warped (7, 8). Combining just a few simple actions in different ways can create limitless possibilities.
Handles. I make some tidy handles that start with a more neatly rolled coil, which I flatten by pressing with my thumb, starting at one end and working toward the other. I hold one end slightly elevated off the table so the coil is able to lengthen freely as I sequentially compress it with my other thumb, starting at the opposite end (9). I go back to the handles several times while they firm up to further refine them. Even though I’m not sure of the exact handle that I’m going to make, I arch or coil these pieces when they are wet so they’ll be less prone to cracking after they have stiffened up and I start to refine the shapes (10).
I lay my wet-formed pieces under a thin cloth and sometimes a thin layer of plastic to firm up slightly. The edges tend to dry more quickly so rotate them a few times during this process. Each time I rotate them, I look them over and refine them a little. At this stage, I’m trying to dry them to be firm, but I still want them to be able to take an impression from my fingerprint if I press hard.
One thing I love about clay is how it responds to touch, and how that response changes as it is handled at varying stages of drying. Wet clay is quick to compress and neatly takes the impression of my fingerprints, but it has very little bones and cannot stand on its own. As the clay begins to dry, it starts to gain the ability to stand against gravity. Likewise, the mark of tools in wet clay can seem muddled compared to the precision mark that can be achieved on a piece of clay that has dried to the consistency of an aged cheddar or even Parmesan (I find cheese comparisons for clay hardness are far more useful than ambiguous terms like “leather hard”).
Step Three: Assembly
This is the part I enjoy the most. If all of the components are appropriately firm (aged cheddar), then this process can be quick, fun, and full of discovery. Today, I’m set up to make maybe 3–4 candlesticks, but I often set myself up for a dozen or more.
I start by inspecting the coils, looking for sections that are a good length for making stems. I do think about this a little and search for sections that interest me. Holding the coil snuggly in your left hand, pat it from the top a few times with your right hand to thicken and expand the top, like a mushroom. I have designed a simple tool to stamp into the clay to make the right-sized hole for the candles that I’m working with. It is 3D-printed plastic, but could easily be whittled from a small stick. The important part is that it is scaled appropriately so that when the clay shrinks in drying and firing, a candle will fit the hole. I like a tapered hole so that the candle can wedge in firmly and stay upright.
Press the tool into the clay to form the cup that the candle will sit in (11). Care is taken to make the hole as near perfectly vertical as possible (12). I will use this tool again to check the vertical orientation as the final step after assembly.
Finally, the bottom of the stem is pinched to form a point, which will make a strong attachment through the base (13). To attach to the base, cut a hole all the way through that is the right size to insert the point. When working with clay that is this firm, I always score and apply slip to both sides, and then compress the joint together firmly (14). Compressing the junction is the key to making the connection strong in the wet phase (15), so that we can move quickly with the rest of the assembly.
Since the handle coils are the thinnest of all the components that were built initially, I’ve paid careful attention to ensure they don’t dry out more than the other pieces, and I refine their shape while the clay can still bend well without cracking. With all of the attachments, remember to score, apply slip, and most importantly, compress the junction (16).
Finally, fine-tune the piece by removing the slip that was squeezed out of the seams—or leave it if it looks good! And, carefully dry them under a thin towel until they are ready to be bisque fired.
Keith Simpson is a ceramic artist and educator whose work combines clay’s primordial substance with richly textured, polychrome-glazed surfaces. He earned a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from The Ohio State University. Simpson has taught at Pratt Institute, Alfred University, and currently at Greenwich Country Day School.
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