During my first year of graduate school, I noticed that the studio custodian used a plastic watering can to wet the floors before cleaning. If you’ve ever seen a plastic watering can, you know how awkwardly proportioned they can be. Seeing this watering can in use inspired me to make a sleek, ergonomic design of my own. This is a long process, so buckle up!

Carter Pasma's finished watering can.
Carter Pasma's finished watering can.

Forming the Body

Start by thoroughly wedging 3 pounds of clay for the body of the watering can and a ½ pound for the bell. Center and open the 3-pound ball to about 5 inches in diameter, compress the base, then define the walls before pulling them up. In three pulls, try to create a tapered cylinder about 9 inches tall with the base slightly wider than the top. Having the base wider than the top will keep the watering can from being tippy when adding the spout, bell, and handle later. You will be rasping the walls of the body, so make sure they are thick enough that clay can be removed. 


Next, bevel the lip by pressing a rib into the clay at a 45° angle while pushing into a damp sponge. Compress the interior and exterior walls of the cylinder with a rib and sponge, removing the throwing lines and excess slip from the surface (1).

Square the cylinder with your shaping stick (a finger would work here, too). Starting at the base on the interior of the pot, apply pressure and draw a straight line to the lip, rotate the pot 180° so the first line you drew is directly in front of you, then make another line. Turn the pot 90° and make a line between the two existing lines, then turn the pot another 180° and draw the last line on the interior wall (2). Make sure the top of the pot is squared by gently refining it into shape with your hands. 

Dry the pot with a torch so that it’s close to leather hard, remove it from the wheel, and set it aside. 


1 Compress the walls removing the throwing lines and excess slip from the surface of the pot.
1 Compress the walls removing the throwing lines and excess slip from the surface of the pot.
2 Working from the base to the lip on all four sides of the pot, square the cylinder with a shaping stick.
2 Working from the base to the lip on all four sides of the pot, square the cylinder with a shaping stick.
3 Using a small rubber rib, throw then refine the neck of the bell where it will attach to the spout.
3 Using a small rubber rib, throw then refine the neck of the bell where it will attach to the spout.
4 Pull a long spout, then hold it up to the body of the pot and shape it into a gentle S-curve.
4 Pull a long spout, then hold it up to the body of the pot and shape it into a gentle S-curve.

Starting the Bell

Using the ½-pound ball of clay that was wedged for the bell, center and open it to about 2½ inches, compressing the base thoroughly. The base of the bell will become the face when it’s attached to the spout. Make sure to leave about  inch thickness at the base, so that the clay will hold its shape when you drill holes. Create a small cylinder about 3 inches tall, then collar in the top ⅓ of the cylinder to start defining the bell. If the bell is too tall, remove any excess clay by cutting it off with a needle tool. 

Using a rubber rib, refine the neck of the bell where it will attach to the spout (3), compress the lip, and make sure it’s flat and can be attached to the spout. 

Dry the bell with a torch so that it, too, is close to leather hard, cut it off from the bat, and set it aside.

Starting the Spout

For the spout of the watering can, use about 2 pounds of clay and roll it into a carrot-shaped plug. Wet the narrow end as well as your hand and gently pull the clay into a longer, more gradually tapered carrot shape about 12 inches long, cutting off excess clay from the thick end. Comparing it to the body of the pot, create a gentle S-curve in the spout (4). Because it will be rasped, make sure that the end of the spout is slightly larger than the bell where it will attach. Set it aside on a piece of foam and dry it to leather hard. 

Refining the Body

By now, the body of the watering can should be leather hard and ready to be refined. Flip the pot onto a piece of foam and start shaping the base into a square using a Surform tool. After the base is squared, start defining the edges, working from the base to the lip of the pot (5), and make sure the lines are straight. After the body has been shaped, smooth it with a metal rib to remove the tool marks and set it aside. 

5 Using a Surform tool, define the edges of the pot working from the base to the lip on each side.
5 Using a Surform tool, define the edges of the pot working from the base to the lip on each side.
6 Align the spout and bell at the angle you want, then adjust the angle of the areas where each will connect.
6 Align the spout and bell at the angle you want, then adjust the angle of the areas where each will connect.
7 Use the Surform rasp to alter the leather-hard spout into a squared shape with crisp edges.
7 Use the Surform rasp to alter the leather-hard spout into a squared shape with crisp edges.
8 Cut the spout in half. Using a trimming tool, hollow the spout leaving inch along either side of the wall.
8 Cut the spout in half. Using a trimming tool, hollow the spout leaving inch along either side of the wall.

Finishing the Spout

Next, line up where the spout will attach to the body by placing it behind the pot and draw a line where the spout should be cut. Using a fettling knife, cut the spout 45° angle where marked. Align the bell and spout at the angle you want, keeping in mind that the tip of the spout needs to be higher than the body of the pot (6).

Next, rasp the leather-hard spout into a squared shape with crisp edges to reflect the shape of the body (7). When the spout’s shape has been refined, cut it in half. Using a trimming tool, hollow the interior of the spout leaving  inch along either side of the wall (8), smooth the interior, score and slip the two halves back together (9), refine the seams with a rubber rib, and set it aside. 


Finishing the Bell

Paddle the leather-hard bell into a square shape (10), score and slip both the spout and the bell, and attach the two together securely (11). Refine the joint seam, and then map out where the holes will go on the face of the bell. Tip: I have found that the bells work best with holes only around the perimeter and on the top half because this allows the pressure to build inside before the water is expelled. Make the holes with a ⅛-inch drill bit (12). 

9 Smooth the interior, then score and slip the two halves back together. Refine the seams with a rubber rib.
9 Smooth the interior, then score and slip the two halves back together. Refine the seams with a rubber rib.
10 Paddle the leather-hard bell into a square shape similar to the form and edge work already on the pot and the handle.
10 Paddle the leather-hard bell into a square shape similar to the form and edge work already on the pot and the handle.
11 Score and slip both the spout and the bell, and then attach the two together securely. Refine the seam.
11 Score and slip both the spout and the bell, and then attach the two together securely. Refine the seam.
12 Map out the holes on the face of the bell, then gently drill them with an ⅛-inch drill bit.
12 Map out the holes on the face of the bell, then gently drill them with an ⅛-inch drill bit.

After the holes are made, align the spout, with the bell now attached, in the middle of one of the flat body panels and trace where it will attach to the body with a needle tool (13). Cut a hole at the mark, score, slip around the hole and the base of the spout, and then attach the two together.

Score and slip around the hole and the base of the spout, then  attach the two together.


Adding a Splash Guard

Then, make a slab that is  inch thick and drape it over the front half of the top of the squared body. Lightly press on the slab, molding it into a domed shape, and trace around the body of the pot where the slab will be cut to fit. The splash guard is upside down at this point. Cut the slab to fit, score and slip the splash guard and the rim of the pot, then join the two (14).


13 Trace where the spout will attach to the body, cut a hole at the mark, then attach the two forms.
13 Trace where the spout will attach to the body, cut a hole at the mark, then attach the two forms.
14 Attach a dome-shaped splash guard to the top front half of the squared body. Refine the seam.
14 Attach a dome-shaped splash guard to the top front half of the squared body. Refine the seam.
15 Pull a handle that is wider at both the top and bottom and thinner in the middle area.
15 Pull a handle that is wider at both the top and bottom and thinner in the middle area.
16 Cut the handle to 8 inches long, then cut the bottom at a 45° angle. Score, slip, and attach it to the body.
16 Cut the handle to 8 inches long, then cut the bottom at a 45° angle. Score, slip, and attach it to the body.

Pulling and Attaching a Handle

Using about 1 pound of clay, pull a handle that is wider at both the top and the bottom, and thinner in the middle (15). Cut the handle so it’s about 8 inches long, then cut the bottom attachment point at a 45° angle. Score and slip the attachment points and the body, and then attach the handle to the pot (16). 

Let the handle dry to leather hard. Then, using a Surform, create a ridge where the handle changes planes from flat to curved (17). Take off any extra bulk, remove the tool marks, and refine the surface with a rubber rib (18). Finally, add a stamp or a maker’s mark. Cover the piece with light plastic to slowly dry.


17 Using a Surform, create a ridge where the handle changes plane from flat to curved for a thumb hold.
17 Using a Surform, create a ridge where the handle changes plane from flat to curved for a thumb hold.
18 Refine the handle, then the entire form with a rubber rib to remove any tool unwanted marks.
18 Refine the handle, then the entire form with a rubber rib to remove any tool unwanted marks.

Soda Firing

I fire my pots in a soda kiln to cone 10 in reduction. I do a body reduction at cone 010 for 1 hour. After body reduction, I fire in a light reduction until cone 9 is down. Then, I spray two 3-pound rounds of soda into an oxidizing atmosphere within the kiln. I continue firing in light reduction until cone 10 is flat, shut the kiln off, allow it to drop to 1950°F (1066°C), turn the burners back on, and cool in reduction down to 1666°F (908°C). I typically try to drop about 75–100°F (about 24–38°C) per hour during the reduction cooling.

Teapot, 7 in. (18 cm) in height, 2023. High-alumina porcelaneous stoneware, soda fired to cone 10 in reduction, reduction cooled to 1666°F (908°C).
Teapot, 7 in. (18 cm) in height, 2023. High-alumina porcelaneous stoneware, soda fired to cone 10 in reduction, reduction cooled to 1666°F (908°C).
Wine cup, 4 in. (10 cm) in height, 2022. High-alumina porcelaneous stoneware, soda fired to cone 10 in reduction, reduction cooled to 1666°F (908°C).
Wine cup, 4 in. (10 cm) in height, 2022. High-alumina porcelaneous stoneware, soda fired to cone 10 in reduction, reduction cooled to 1666°F (908°C).
Pitcher, 9½ in. (24 cm) in height, high-alumina porcelaneous stoneware, wood-soda fired to cone 10 in reduction, reduction cooled to 1666°F (908°C), 2022.
Pitcher, 9½ in. (24 cm) in height, high-alumina porcelaneous stoneware, wood-soda fired to cone 10 in reduction, reduction cooled to 1666°F (908°C), 2022.


Watering can, 10 in. (25 cm) in height. High-alumina porcelaneous stoneware, soda fired to cone 10 in reduction, reduction cooled to 1666°F (908°C), 2023.
Watering can, 10 in. (25 cm) in height. High-alumina porcelaneous stoneware, soda fired to cone 10 in reduction, reduction cooled to 1666°F (908°C), 2023.
Watering can, 9½ in. (24 cm) in height. High-alumina porcelaneous stoneware, soda fired to cone 10 in reduction, reduction cooled to 1666°F (908°C), 2023.
Watering can, 9½ in. (24 cm) in height. High-alumina porcelaneous stoneware, soda fired to cone 10 in reduction, reduction cooled to 1666°F (908°C), 2023.

Carter Pasma is currently a second-year graduate student pursuing an MFA in ceramics at Utah State University. He earned a BFA in ceramics at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. After graduating, he was a post-bac student at Montana State University for two years. In May 2022, he was named one of Ceramics Monthly’s Emerging Artists. To learn more, follow him on Instagram @cartersclay or check out his website www.carters-clay.com.

Unfamiliar with any terms in this article? Browse our glossary of pottery terms!
Topics: Wheel Throwing Techniques
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