Definition Of Handbuilding In Ceramics

Making a pinch pot is the simplest way to begin working with clay.

Definition of handbuilding in ceramics.

Pinchpot coiling and slab techniques. Incise indenting into the wet clay. Greenware any unfired clay body before it is bisque fired and is very fragile. To make a pinch pot one inserts a thumb into a ball of clay and continually pinches the the clay between the thumb and fingers while rotating to thin.

Beth peterson is a potter artist and writer with more than 30 years of experience crafting clay and ceramics. Hand building pottery using slabs of clay is an exciting way to create shapes that could never be produced using a potter s wheel or that would be difficult to achieve if you are doing hand construction using coils of clay. Handbuilding clay sculpting any clay body by hand. Basic pottery hand building techniques.

Kiln a furnace or oven for burning baking or drying especially for firing pottery. Pin share email kidstock getty images. The most common handbuilding techniques are pinch pottery coil building and slab building. Handbuilding is working with clay by hand using only simple tools not the pottery wheel.

What makes these creations unique is the hand artistry and the type of potter s clay you use. The three basic techniques of hand building are pinch coil and slab construction. You start by kneading the clay into a small lump about the size of your fist. Handbuilding is an ancient pottery making technique that involves creating forms without a pottery wheel using the hands fingers and simple tools.

Most often ceramic tools are used to carve engrave incise the clay. Learn about the spruce crafts editorial process.