Pinch Technique

For this project we practiced the pinch technique. First, we started off by making small pinch-pot bowl. I started off with a ball of clay and rolled into a ball, then drove a small hole into the middle with my thumb. From there, I placed my thumb in the hole and pinched as I rotated it until the sides became thinner and it began to look more like a bowl. After I had a bowl shape I liked, I began to smooth out some of the lumps and smooth the rim. Next, I rolled out a coil, scratched one side of the coil with the needle tool, and did the same to the bottom of my bowl, where I was going to attach the two. I used a paint brush to apply some water to both and twisted the two until the coil was firmly attached. I flattened the coil a bit after it was attached, so it was not too rounded and protrude too far. When I was done, I let the bowl dry for a few days until it was ready to glaze. The glaze color I chose was C-73 (Storm).

The next piece of this project we had to do was create a sphere made out of two pinch pots fused together and make our own design out of it. I knew that I wanted to have a sort of jungle design with flowers and vines all around the sphere. So I started off by making two pinch pots the same why I made the first, but when the two pots were in a bowl like shape that was similar that I was happy with, I used the serrated rib to make up the rim of each of the bowls, brushed on some slip/water on the rim and then twisted the two until they were firmly attached to the other. At first, the shape of my sphere was a bit flat, so I decided to roll it in my hands until it formed a more spherical shape and then I smoothed it out. I let my sphere sit for awhile so it was not too soft, and I would be able attach the vines and flowers without leaving too many marks or blemishes