My face pots started as a gift for a friend, and soon after I received a lot of messages from people wanting to buy one, so I have continued making more. They have evolved over the last few years and I am sharing this small pitcher form/creamer version with you so you can make your own.
I like planning the pieces beforehand as much as possible, which means determining the height and the diameter. I also like to make pots of varying sizes. When I make templates for several sizes, I make them extra long and add lines for varying lengths. I use different colored markers to indicate different heights and diameters (see 1). For this piece, I made a template for the vessel walls and another for the spout. I make my templates out of Tyvek, a coated paper that resists water.
Tools for Making
Slab making: rolling pin, piece of drywall, thickness sticks, metal rib, X-Acto blade, scoring tool or serrated rib, template, and plastic bag
Vessel making/face sculpting: brush for slip and cleaning up, various wood tools, Magic Water (mix 1 liter of water, 2.5 grams of sodium silicate, 0.78 grams of soda ash), small containers for clay, dry work surface, banding wheel, fine sponge, metal sculpting tool assortment, and colored clay
Constructing the Vessel
For this piece, use about 11/4 pounds (20 oz) of clay. Roll it into a thick coil, then flatten it out to a thickness of 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) on a drywall board. This will make a fairly light finished piece. I use a low-fire fritware clay body, which is 50 parts New Zealand Kaolin and 50 parts Ferro Frit 3195 with Veegum added to encourage translucency and a smoother/self-glazed surface. I fire to cone 04. It is porcelain-like, but not actually porcelain.
Compress the slab with a metal rib, then carefully lift and place it down on your dry non-stick work surface. If you continue to use the drywall board, select a dry part of the board to use. This is important, because once the drywall gets too wet, the paper may lift off onto the clay and ruin your wareboard.
Compress the slab again in multiple directions, then lay your wall template on the slab. To form a vessel with a 13-inch (33-cm) circumference, you will need to mark the template at 71/2 inches (19 cm), the center, then place the pour spout template at that halfway point (1). Trace around the two templates as a whole, then cut them out.
Next, pick up the rectangle slab, and sit it on one edge. Gently curl it up until the two ends meet into the basic shape you want (2). Do not bend too quickly but gently coax the clay. When the two ends are next to each other, take a scoring tool and score the beveled edges. Take your brush and apply slip and magic water to the scored edges and press together. Rib smooth and spend a little time compressing that seam to secure the join well.
Begin pushing and bulging the clay from the inside out to dictate the placement of the eyes and facial blemishes. Make some bulges at the base to give the piece a little more of an interesting base instead of a clean oval (3).
Now, flip the vessel upside down onto a sponge or soft surface. This is trickier with this piece due to the spout. Hang that area over the edge of the sponge (see 4). There is a delicate approach to handling the clay at this point. Do not squeeze it, but don’t hold it so loosely that you drop it.
Score and slip it, then flip it over onto a prepared bottom slab. Cut out the bottom by tracing the shape with a sharp blade. Using a small sculpting tool, lift the outside edge of the attached base up into the walls. Gently flip the pot back over onto the deep sponge, then smooth and refine the join (4).
Sculpting the Face
I start with making the eyeballs. Form some clay into a flattened sphere, then slip and score them onto the pot. Make eyelids from little coils, slip, score, and press them flat under the eyes, then blend only the lower seam into the vessel (5). Play around with the eyelids to really change up the look of the pieces (6). Add some extra coils and wrinkles at this point also.
Next, to make the nose, form a couple of them at once and play around with which one looks best (7). After the nose is attached, add a coil for the bottom lip (8). Then, lay out a small coil, flatten it, and using an X-Acto blade, cut out little rectangular teeth. Attach the teeth above the lip.
Take a small amount of red-colored porcelain and form the tongue (9). I add red stain to my clay body, which is easier for me than messing with underglaze for every tongue.
After the face is done, it’s time to add the facial blemishes and warts. Make a bunch of small clay balls. Score the areas of the pot where you want these to go, then begin to attach them. Next, roll out tiny coils and wrap them around the base of the little balls (10). Smooth them with tools and a wet brush.
The final touch is the handle, which, in this case, is just a thick coil. Finish it up by adding small coils to the attachment areas and blending into the body of the piece (11).
Firing and Glazing
Before glazing, sand the entire piece—once with 220- or 320-grit sandpaper is fine. Then wash it under a running tap while using a sponge to wipe it clean. Let it dry overnight.
I use a variety of pinkish underglazes and thin them out to build up color. For the eyes, I usually use three colors: a dark color for the outer ring, a base color for the center, and a brighter or lighter color for next to the pupil (12). You can add bloodshot eyes at this point with a small brush, and also the little corners of the eyes are brushed with red underglaze. I use white low-fire glaze for the teeth to help them stand out from the face.
Do not smear the underglaze, just dab the clear glaze onto the eye. Use clear glaze on the handle and the blemishes. I use watered-down clear glaze and a fan brush to glaze the interior (13). Place a thin layer of alumina hydrate on the kiln shelf to prevent the piece from sticking during the firing, then fire it to cone 04.
Luster
The materials needed for this stage include premium gold luster, mother of pearl, essence, brushes, isopropyl alcohol, paper towels, a respirator, and a well-vented work area.
Lustering is fairly simple. Clean the glazed areas with isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel or rag. Let it dry for a few minutes and then apply luster onto the glazed areas. Do not mix brushes. Use one brush for each different luster. Same goes for essence. Label your essences and brushes to keep track (14).
When finished adding luster (15), put the piece in the kiln on fast fire to cone 018. When the kiln is cool, sand the bottom of the piece with 120- or 220-grit sandpaper until smooth.
Matthew Dercole’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including museums in Spain, Croatia, South Korea, and Slovenia. He is currently the studio and facilities manager at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine.
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My face pots started as a gift for a friend, and soon after I received a lot of messages from people wanting to buy one, so I have continued making more. They have evolved over the last few years and I am sharing this small pitcher form/creamer version with you so you can make your own.
I like planning the pieces beforehand as much as possible, which means determining the height and the diameter. I also like to make pots of varying sizes. When I make templates for several sizes, I make them extra long and add lines for varying lengths. I use different colored markers to indicate different heights and diameters (see 1). For this piece, I made a template for the vessel walls and another for the spout. I make my templates out of Tyvek, a coated paper that resists water.
Tools for Making
Constructing the Vessel
For this piece, use about 11/4 pounds (20 oz) of clay. Roll it into a thick coil, then flatten it out to a thickness of 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) on a drywall board. This will make a fairly light finished piece. I use a low-fire fritware clay body, which is 50 parts New Zealand Kaolin and 50 parts Ferro Frit 3195 with Veegum added to encourage translucency and a smoother/self-glazed surface. I fire to cone 04. It is porcelain-like, but not actually porcelain.
Compress the slab with a metal rib, then carefully lift and place it down on your dry non-stick work surface. If you continue to use the drywall board, select a dry part of the board to use. This is important, because once the drywall gets too wet, the paper may lift off onto the clay and ruin your wareboard.
Compress the slab again in multiple directions, then lay your wall template on the slab. To form a vessel with a 13-inch (33-cm) circumference, you will need to mark the template at 71/2 inches (19 cm), the center, then place the pour spout template at that halfway point (1). Trace around the two templates as a whole, then cut them out.
Next, pick up the rectangle slab, and sit it on one edge. Gently curl it up until the two ends meet into the basic shape you want (2). Do not bend too quickly but gently coax the clay. When the two ends are next to each other, take a scoring tool and score the beveled edges. Take your brush and apply slip and magic water to the scored edges and press together. Rib smooth and spend a little time compressing that seam to secure the join well.
Begin pushing and bulging the clay from the inside out to dictate the placement of the eyes and facial blemishes. Make some bulges at the base to give the piece a little more of an interesting base instead of a clean oval (3).
Now, flip the vessel upside down onto a sponge or soft surface. This is trickier with this piece due to the spout. Hang that area over the edge of the sponge (see 4). There is a delicate approach to handling the clay at this point. Do not squeeze it, but don’t hold it so loosely that you drop it.
Score and slip it, then flip it over onto a prepared bottom slab. Cut out the bottom by tracing the shape with a sharp blade. Using a small sculpting tool, lift the outside edge of the attached base up into the walls. Gently flip the pot back over onto the deep sponge, then smooth and refine the join (4).
Sculpting the Face
I start with making the eyeballs. Form some clay into a flattened sphere, then slip and score them onto the pot. Make eyelids from little coils, slip, score, and press them flat under the eyes, then blend only the lower seam into the vessel (5). Play around with the eyelids to really change up the look of the pieces (6). Add some extra coils and wrinkles at this point also.
Next, to make the nose, form a couple of them at once and play around with which one looks best (7). After the nose is attached, add a coil for the bottom lip (8). Then, lay out a small coil, flatten it, and using an X-Acto blade, cut out little rectangular teeth. Attach the teeth above the lip.
Take a small amount of red-colored porcelain and form the tongue (9). I add red stain to my clay body, which is easier for me than messing with underglaze for every tongue.
After the face is done, it’s time to add the facial blemishes and warts. Make a bunch of small clay balls. Score the areas of the pot where you want these to go, then begin to attach them. Next, roll out tiny coils and wrap them around the base of the little balls (10). Smooth them with tools and a wet brush.
The final touch is the handle, which, in this case, is just a thick coil. Finish it up by adding small coils to the attachment areas and blending into the body of the piece (11).
Firing and Glazing
Before glazing, sand the entire piece—once with 220- or 320-grit sandpaper is fine. Then wash it under a running tap while using a sponge to wipe it clean. Let it dry overnight.
I use a variety of pinkish underglazes and thin them out to build up color. For the eyes, I usually use three colors: a dark color for the outer ring, a base color for the center, and a brighter or lighter color for next to the pupil (12). You can add bloodshot eyes at this point with a small brush, and also the little corners of the eyes are brushed with red underglaze. I use white low-fire glaze for the teeth to help them stand out from the face.
Do not smear the underglaze, just dab the clear glaze onto the eye. Use clear glaze on the handle and the blemishes. I use watered-down clear glaze and a fan brush to glaze the interior (13). Place a thin layer of alumina hydrate on the kiln shelf to prevent the piece from sticking during the firing, then fire it to cone 04.
Luster
The materials needed for this stage include premium gold luster, mother of pearl, essence, brushes, isopropyl alcohol, paper towels, a respirator, and a well-vented work area.
Lustering is fairly simple. Clean the glazed areas with isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel or rag. Let it dry for a few minutes and then apply luster onto the glazed areas. Do not mix brushes. Use one brush for each different luster. Same goes for essence. Label your essences and brushes to keep track (14).
When finished adding luster (15), put the piece in the kiln on fast fire to cone 018. When the kiln is cool, sand the bottom of the piece with 120- or 220-grit sandpaper until smooth.
Matthew Dercole’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including museums in Spain, Croatia, South Korea, and Slovenia. He is currently the studio and facilities manager at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine.
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