Lidded jars are one of my favorite forms to make. The possibilities are endless and they are purely functional. While there are infinite ways to make them, with a box-form lid or a gallery-type lid, the following is how I handbuild them with an inset gallery lid.
When I make a jar, I always start with the lid first so it can firm up while I am building the vessel. This way, when it’s time to make the lid fit, it’s stiff enough to handle and manipulate without causing too much damage to it.
Starting the Lid
Begin by rolling out a slab large enough to cut a circle for the lid and a circle for the base of the jar. You want to roll out the slab to about ⅜ inch (9.5 mm) thick. I like to make my lids a bit thicker so they will be stronger. Note: If you want to add texture to the lid, this would be the time.
Trace two circles around a hump mold. Cut one to the same size as the traced ring and cut the other slightly larger than you need. Slump the smaller slab over the mold (1), and leave it to firm up while moving onto building the body of the jar.
Creating the Jar Base
Most often, my jars start on a pre-made foot-ring mold. I want my jars to have some shadow under them when they sit on the table to give them an elevated look. So, for this jar, I chose a slump mold with a built-in foot ring and deep curve. I make these bisque molds by throwing them on the wheel and using the end of a paintbrush to form the foot ring. Let them dry a lot before firing them (pre-made molds are available on my website).
Roll out a coil and push it into the hollow ring part of the mold. After pushing down firmly to make sure the clay fills the ring (2), score the exposed clay really well and apply slip to it.
From there, return to the second circle that was cut a bit larger than the size of the mold base. Placing that onto the foot ring part that was just pressed, press pretty firmly where the slab meets the coil to ensure it becomes good and stuck to the foot. At this point, you can spin it on a banding wheel and smooth it out with a metal rib. Personally, I leave it with the finger marks in it as I like the handmade look (see 3).
Building the Walls
After pressing and smoothing the base, you are ready to start building the walls. I like to use my wall extruder to push out coils that are the same size, but you could also roll the coils out by hand. I extrude more than I think I will need, about fifteen or so, then wrap the unused ones in plastic for later. First, score the edge of the base slab and slip it with plain water. Holding the coil out in your left hand, use your right thumb to push the inside of the coil to the base where you scored (3). Once you’ve gone all the way around the base with one coil, then you go all the way around again, doing what I’ve heard called the “cinch pinch.” Using both hands at the same time, grip the coil lightly and push your thumbs together, essentially cinching it inward a bit (4); this gives the walls a bit more strength by compressing the coils. Once you go all the way around with the cinch pinch on three added coils, then you can support the outside of the wall with your right hand while using a rib or a stick on the inside wall, smoothing it as much as you like. Again, I don’t totally smooth the inside walls.
After you do that all the way around once or twice, switch hands to where your left hand is supporting the inside of the wall and you have a metal rib in your right hand. Note: You can do this either way, but I am left handed. Using my thumb, pointer, and middle finger, I slightly bend the metal rib to make it a bit stiffer and I am mostly straightening the walls with the rib. While scraping (5), I am watching the wall profile to keep it straight.
Tip: While building I like to firm up the area below where I am working to make the form more stable to build on. I use a small torch to dry about an inch or so under where I am building so I can push down on the coils without the fear of the form buckling beneath me. You can also use a heat gun to do this.
Once you feel the clay is firm enough to build further, continue adding coils and scraping to your desired final height (6).
Adding the Lid Galley
After you get the piece as tall as you want, it’s time to create the gallery. I use a tool I bought from Xiem Tools called the Foot Maker. Technically, it’s designed to make feet for bowls and plates, but I use it to cut a nice even piece for the lid gallery (7). You can also extrude this piece if you have a handheld extruder. Cut a strip long enough to fit around the circumference of the jar’s interior.
Using a needle tool, spin the body of the jar on the banding wheel and mark about 1 inch (2.5 cm) down from the rim and mark it all the way around the interior (8). Use a scoring tool to score really well, then slip both pieces and press the coil to the inside of the wall. Pressing gently at first, go around slowly and press it into place as level as you can get (9). Once it is joined to the wall, go around and lightly pinch the gallery to soften the sharp edges. Next, use the 90° edge of a metal rib to create a crisp corner between the gallery and body wall (10).
Adding a Handle or Knob
While the lid is still on the hump mold, make the handle. I do this so I can push the handle on firmly with the support of the hump mold under the lid. There are so many options for a handle, I usually try a few until I find what’s right for the form or what feels good. Quite often I will grab a hunk of clay and slap it on the table into a rectangle form, then just carve it into a knob and attach it. For this knob, I cut two holes into it for aesthetic purposes (11) but you can make knobs and handles in many ways.
Fitting the Lid
Now that we have the lid and the body ready to go, we can begin trying to fit the lid as well as we can. I say this because fitting handbuilt lids perfectly, like you can with a wheel-thrown piece, is almost impossible, at least for me it is. So I get it as level and as tight fitting as I can. I begin by laying the lid piece upside down on the body and tracing the outer edge with a needle tool (12). From there, lay the piece back on the slump mold and cut a little bit inside that line to allow for the thickness of your wall (13).
Place the cut lid onto the jar and eyeball the fit. Tip: Take a piece of a plastic bag, cut it into a strip, and drape it across the top of your piece. This makes pulling the new, somewhat sticky, lid in and out easier while you’re working on it. By eyeballing the lid you can see where it is too big (14). Use a rasp tool to slightly shave down some clay off those wider spots (15). Be careful, rasps are pretty aggressive and you can easily take too much off. This also takes a bit of practice. As you continue shaving it down, put it back in and out to fit it as best as you can.
Now, you can cut and level the top. I like to have the lid sit a bit deeper into the top, so I cut it up a bit higher. I use a Sunshine Stick (available at sunshinecobb.com) in combination with a cheese cutter to cut a level top (16).
Finishing and Drying
Handbuilt lids nearly always have a very specific fit and can only be seated a certain way, unlike thrown lids that can sit and twist anyway. So, I like to add a decorative element to the lid and jar to indicate where the cover should ideally sit in the jar (17, 18).
Once you get a good lid fit and trimmed jar, with the lid and piece of plastic in place, cover it and let it dry slowly.
If you’re building it on a foot-mold ring, once the jar is leather hard, you can take the piece out and gently stand it up on its own to let the bottom dry. If you leave it on the ring for too long it will crack as it dries.
Michael Griffin is originally from Long Island, and currently resides in the Finger Lakes region in New York. He found his love for clay while living in the Alfred, New York area. As a golf professional in the summer, he only makes pots in the winter, when his course is closed. Griffin is looking to expand as an artist and to become a full-time potter when he retires. To learn more, follow him on Instagram @mike_griffin_ceramics.
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Lidded jars are one of my favorite forms to make. The possibilities are endless and they are purely functional. While there are infinite ways to make them, with a box-form lid or a gallery-type lid, the following is how I handbuild them with an inset gallery lid.
When I make a jar, I always start with the lid first so it can firm up while I am building the vessel. This way, when it’s time to make the lid fit, it’s stiff enough to handle and manipulate without causing too much damage to it.
Starting the Lid
Begin by rolling out a slab large enough to cut a circle for the lid and a circle for the base of the jar. You want to roll out the slab to about ⅜ inch (9.5 mm) thick. I like to make my lids a bit thicker so they will be stronger. Note: If you want to add texture to the lid, this would be the time.
Trace two circles around a hump mold. Cut one to the same size as the traced ring and cut the other slightly larger than you need. Slump the smaller slab over the mold (1), and leave it to firm up while moving onto building the body of the jar.
Creating the Jar Base
Most often, my jars start on a pre-made foot-ring mold. I want my jars to have some shadow under them when they sit on the table to give them an elevated look. So, for this jar, I chose a slump mold with a built-in foot ring and deep curve. I make these bisque molds by throwing them on the wheel and using the end of a paintbrush to form the foot ring. Let them dry a lot before firing them (pre-made molds are available on my website).
Roll out a coil and push it into the hollow ring part of the mold. After pushing down firmly to make sure the clay fills the ring (2), score the exposed clay really well and apply slip to it.
From there, return to the second circle that was cut a bit larger than the size of the mold base. Placing that onto the foot ring part that was just pressed, press pretty firmly where the slab meets the coil to ensure it becomes good and stuck to the foot. At this point, you can spin it on a banding wheel and smooth it out with a metal rib. Personally, I leave it with the finger marks in it as I like the handmade look (see 3).
Building the Walls
After pressing and smoothing the base, you are ready to start building the walls. I like to use my wall extruder to push out coils that are the same size, but you could also roll the coils out by hand. I extrude more than I think I will need, about fifteen or so, then wrap the unused ones in plastic for later. First, score the edge of the base slab and slip it with plain water. Holding the coil out in your left hand, use your right thumb to push the inside of the coil to the base where you scored (3). Once you’ve gone all the way around the base with one coil, then you go all the way around again, doing what I’ve heard called the “cinch pinch.” Using both hands at the same time, grip the coil lightly and push your thumbs together, essentially cinching it inward a bit (4); this gives the walls a bit more strength by compressing the coils. Once you go all the way around with the cinch pinch on three added coils, then you can support the outside of the wall with your right hand while using a rib or a stick on the inside wall, smoothing it as much as you like. Again, I don’t totally smooth the inside walls.
After you do that all the way around once or twice, switch hands to where your left hand is supporting the inside of the wall and you have a metal rib in your right hand. Note: You can do this either way, but I am left handed. Using my thumb, pointer, and middle finger, I slightly bend the metal rib to make it a bit stiffer and I am mostly straightening the walls with the rib. While scraping (5), I am watching the wall profile to keep it straight.
Tip: While building I like to firm up the area below where I am working to make the form more stable to build on. I use a small torch to dry about an inch or so under where I am building so I can push down on the coils without the fear of the form buckling beneath me. You can also use a heat gun to do this.
Once you feel the clay is firm enough to build further, continue adding coils and scraping to your desired final height (6).
Adding the Lid Galley
After you get the piece as tall as you want, it’s time to create the gallery. I use a tool I bought from Xiem Tools called the Foot Maker. Technically, it’s designed to make feet for bowls and plates, but I use it to cut a nice even piece for the lid gallery (7). You can also extrude this piece if you have a handheld extruder. Cut a strip long enough to fit around the circumference of the jar’s interior.
Using a needle tool, spin the body of the jar on the banding wheel and mark about 1 inch (2.5 cm) down from the rim and mark it all the way around the interior (8). Use a scoring tool to score really well, then slip both pieces and press the coil to the inside of the wall. Pressing gently at first, go around slowly and press it into place as level as you can get (9). Once it is joined to the wall, go around and lightly pinch the gallery to soften the sharp edges. Next, use the 90° edge of a metal rib to create a crisp corner between the gallery and body wall (10).
Adding a Handle or Knob
While the lid is still on the hump mold, make the handle. I do this so I can push the handle on firmly with the support of the hump mold under the lid. There are so many options for a handle, I usually try a few until I find what’s right for the form or what feels good. Quite often I will grab a hunk of clay and slap it on the table into a rectangle form, then just carve it into a knob and attach it. For this knob, I cut two holes into it for aesthetic purposes (11) but you can make knobs and handles in many ways.
Fitting the Lid
Now that we have the lid and the body ready to go, we can begin trying to fit the lid as well as we can. I say this because fitting handbuilt lids perfectly, like you can with a wheel-thrown piece, is almost impossible, at least for me it is. So I get it as level and as tight fitting as I can. I begin by laying the lid piece upside down on the body and tracing the outer edge with a needle tool (12). From there, lay the piece back on the slump mold and cut a little bit inside that line to allow for the thickness of your wall (13).
Place the cut lid onto the jar and eyeball the fit. Tip: Take a piece of a plastic bag, cut it into a strip, and drape it across the top of your piece. This makes pulling the new, somewhat sticky, lid in and out easier while you’re working on it. By eyeballing the lid you can see where it is too big (14). Use a rasp tool to slightly shave down some clay off those wider spots (15). Be careful, rasps are pretty aggressive and you can easily take too much off. This also takes a bit of practice. As you continue shaving it down, put it back in and out to fit it as best as you can.
Now, you can cut and level the top. I like to have the lid sit a bit deeper into the top, so I cut it up a bit higher. I use a Sunshine Stick (available at sunshinecobb.com) in combination with a cheese cutter to cut a level top (16).
Finishing and Drying
Handbuilt lids nearly always have a very specific fit and can only be seated a certain way, unlike thrown lids that can sit and twist anyway. So, I like to add a decorative element to the lid and jar to indicate where the cover should ideally sit in the jar (17, 18).
Once you get a good lid fit and trimmed jar, with the lid and piece of plastic in place, cover it and let it dry slowly.
If you’re building it on a foot-mold ring, once the jar is leather hard, you can take the piece out and gently stand it up on its own to let the bottom dry. If you leave it on the ring for too long it will crack as it dries.
Michael Griffin is originally from Long Island, and currently resides in the Finger Lakes region in New York. He found his love for clay while living in the Alfred, New York area. As a golf professional in the summer, he only makes pots in the winter, when his course is closed. Griffin is looking to expand as an artist and to become a full-time potter when he retires. To learn more, follow him on Instagram @mike_griffin_ceramics.
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