Art - coil pot

Sketchbook

Niamh's design isn't a typical shape for a coil pot, and with the tapering of the shape, this may need to be made upside down. Same technique, just a different way of making. 

Practical

To make a coil pot you make a flat base and then make sausages of clay that are slightly longer than the circumference of the base. You then push the clay into the base, making sure to go in one direction, so that any air is squeezed out. The cross hatch technique was used to make sure the clay sections stuck together. 

You then build up the pot by adding more coils, and keep repeating the pushing technique. The pot needs supporting on both sides while doing this so that the pot doesn't collapse. 

When you're happy with the size, then you need to shape the pot. Using coils, you do use a lot of clay but this means that more clay can be taken resulting in a lighter pot. 

I took a lot of time with this because I wanted it to be nice and smooth and a nice shape. I then made another circle of clay, measuring it against the pot to make a lid. 

When I was happy with it, I left it overnight to start drying. This is the end result. I'm very happy with it. 

The pot was then sanded down so that decoration is easier.