A wine bucket needs to hold one bottle of wine and enough ice for chilling. Similar to a vase form, it requires a weight distribution that will allow for stability. Start with five pounds of earthenware clay thrown into a tall, wide cylinder, with thicker walls for refining later. The top of the cylinder widens to roughly 1½ times the diameter of the bottom.

1 Clay dryness is important. If it’s too soft, the rasp will gum up. If it’s too hard, the surface texture may be less dramatic. 2 Experiment with different directions in mark making with the rasp to shape the knob. Surprising patterns may emerge.

3 Use deep score marks and a thicker, mortar-like slip to adhere the hard-leather-hard clay together. 4 Apply paper stencils and a colored slip. Once the slip is no longer tacky, remove the stencil.

5 Brush on a second color to select areas of the piece. Leave some areas bare to let the raw clay body show through.6 Use a wire scoring tool to create decorative marks on both the colored sections and the bare clay body.

7 After bisque firing, brush black underglaze into the textures, then wipe it away, leaving the black in the recessed lines.8 Use black Mayco Designer Liner to create line work and enhance only the colored surface areas.

9 Pour glaze to line the interior. Brush clear glaze and soda-ash wash onto select areas on the exterior. Refire to temperature.

From the Pottery Making Illustrated January/February 2016 issue.

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Topics: Ceramic Decorating Techniques
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