Hand Building Pottery Ideas For Beginners

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Did you know that you don’t have to own a pottery wheel to make ceramics? Hand building is a great way that you can make pottery without all the expensive equipment! I do own a potter’s wheel that my husband and dad handmade, but I still love to hand built from time to time. There is just something so satisfying about sculpting clay with your hands. I really love the more primitive look that hand built ceramics have as well.

First, let’s talk a little bit about the basic techniques of hand building pottery, and then I’ll show you a few simple pottery projects that you can make on your own!Hand building pottery is an ages old method of creating pots with your hands and just a few simple tools that I will link down below. The main components of hand building are the pinch pot method, the coil pottery technique, and slab construction.

The Pinch Pot Method

The pinch pot method is probably my personal favorite because it feels a little more freeing in the way that you construct your pot. You simply take a lump of clay and pinch it into the desired shape. You can make abstract or decorative objects such as animal figures using this technique as well as a functional piece of pottery. I’m currently in between studio spaces and am without my wheel, so I’m making a pinch pot coffee mug as a gift for my dad.

When beginning a pinch pot, be sure to wedge your clay! Wedging is the act of kneading your ball of clay almost like a ball of dough. I knead my clay in all directions and on all sides, giving it a firm pat at the end to really pack those clay particles. Wedging gets rid of any air bubbles that make cause an explosion when firing your piece which we obviously do not want to happen!

Another key component to a successful pinch pot is making sure that your pottery walls are at an even thickness all the way around. Using your index finger and thumb, pinch up the walls of your clay pot while rotating your piece with the other hand. If you are sculpting a figurine, just use your hands to form your sculpture into the shape you’d like! Pinch pots are simple and a great way to get some hands on experience and familiarize yourself with how clay works.

The Coil Pottery Technique

The coil pottery technique is pretty much exactly what it sounds like- creating pots using coils of clay! You can begin a coil pot by rolling out a slab for your base or you can start with a spiral coil. Roll out your clay into ropes of even thickness. Begin to build up your walls by stacking and attaching the clay coils almost like you’d make a rope basket.

Be sure to firmly sculpt your ropes together and smooth to make a solid clay wall. While it is faster to do this method without the use of clay slip, scoring and slipping between your coils adds strength to your piece and lessens the likelihood that your ropes will separate during drying or firing. You may be wondering what clay slip is, and the easiest answer is that it is clay that has been mixed with water to make a mud like consistency. You use clay slip as a sort of ceramic glue when you are attaching pieces of clay together. For example, when you make a coffee mug, you form the cup and handle separately. Then, you score ( or scratch grooves into the clay) and slip (add your “glue” ) where your handle will go and attach your handle.

If you don’t want to create a piece of pottery that looks like a bunch of ropes stacked on top of one another, you will need to smooth out your pot’s walls or sides. You can definitely achieve this using only your fingers, but there are a few simple pottery tools that can really help this process.

Clay ribs are wonderful, yet inexpensive little tools that you can use to smooth and compress the sides of your pots. I prefer the rubber ribs like this one because they are more forgiving compared to the metal ribs. I have found metal ribs can sometimes dig into your clay if you hit a wrong angle. Sponges are also very useful to smooth out pottery. After you’ve used your fingers or a rib to compress or smooth your sides, dampen your sponge and wipe away any tools or finger marks. I’ve written a whole blog post about my favorite pottery tools HERE if you’d like to dive deeper.

Slab Building

You can also build pottery by taking a piece of clay, rolling it into a slab, and using these slabs to create your desired form. This technique is called slab building. To make slabs of clay, you will need a rolling pin. I love the wooden rolling pins that are all one piece like this one. Some potters use a piece of equipment called a slab roller to create their slabs, but these are usually very expensive. Rolling pins work great and are what I’ve used my entire pottery career.

When working with slabs, you will want to make sure that each slab of clay is rolled out to an even thickness. I like to work with 1/4” thickness, maybe a bit thinner. The evenness gives strength to your piece as you build. Cut out your slabs into the desired shapes, and build your pot by assembling the slabs together, scoring and slipping at each point of attachment.

Slabs are also draped over other forms called slump molds to create various pieces. Using a hand roller, your hands, or a rib,compress your clay to take the form of the mold. An example of using a slump mold would be to drape your slab of clay over the exterior of a bowl. You will create another bowl shape from using the existing bowl as a positive mold.

Now that we’ve discussed the basic methods behind hand building pottery, here are five fun beginner projects to try your hand at!

1.Pinch Pot Coffee Mug

Start by forming a ball with about 1 pound of clay. This will be roughly the size of a baseball. Take your thumb and create a hole in the center of your ball. Be sure not to go all the way through the hall because you’ll want to leave some clay at the bottom to form the bottom of your cup! Taking your index finger, middle finger, and thumb, pinch the sides of your ball while rotating it in the other hand. By doing this, you are thinning out the walls of your mug.

It’s important not to have walls be too thick when it comes to most pottery, but especially functional pieces. You’ll want it to be thin enough to sip from, just like you do any store bought mug. Also, the thicker the walls of your pottery, the longer it takes to dry out.

Continue this process until your mug walls have reached the desired thickness. You’ll want to make the bottom of your mug as close to the same thickness as the sides. Decorate or stylize your mug however you’d like while it’s still moldable.

Now it’s time to make the handle. Roll out a small log of clay. Dip your fingers in a little bit of water. Hold your log in the dry hand and slowly pull down on the clay with your wet hand. Repeat this process and you will have pulled a handle!

Don’t be discouraged if this doesn’t work out for you. You can also cut a handle from a slab of clay or roll a coil to create a handle. It’s really up to your interpretation and how you’d like your mug to look and feel when you hold it. Score the mug where you’d like to attach your handle. Add clay slip and firmly push the handle onto your cup form.

When drying your clay mug, it’s important that the cup and the handle dry at the same rate. This reduces the risk that the handle will separate or crack off from the mug. To do this, I like to place my work in a lidded plastic bin or I cover it in heavy duty plastic. After a few weeks, your piece should be fully dried and ready to go into the kiln. Don’t have a kiln? Don’t worry! Most neighborhood clay studios will allow you to rent space in their kiln to fire your piece.

2.Leaf Jewelry Dish

Next, we will be using the slab method to create a leaf jewelry dish. This is one of the easiest projects you can make, but the outcome is so pretty! Start by finding a leaf that you think is pretty enough to be preserved in clay. Roll out an even slab that is about 1/4 inch thick. Make sure that there are no air bubbles in your slab and compress the slab with your clay rib or rolling pin.

Once your slab is nice and smooth, lay your chosen leaf on top of the clay. Using slight pressure, roll over the leaf with your rolling pin. Gently peel the leaf from your clay slab to see your leaf impression in the clay. Using a knife or clay cutting tool like this one , cut out your leaf along the silhouette. You can either drape your leaf on a plate or bowl like a slump mold, or use your fingers to gently push the edges of the leaf up to form a slight wall. This slight edge or form will help the dish hold your jewelry. Dry slowly in your damp box or plastic bin to keep it from cracking. Fire in the kiln when dry.

3.Animal Figurine Sculpture

Creating animal sculptures is another fun and relatively easy project to try! It is very similar to pinch pottery. When sculpting an animal, I always recommend that you have either a reference photo or are looking at the actual animal to help with the anatomy of the animal. If you’re going for a more stylized or cartoon figurine, then disregard this and let your imagination run wild! I also recommend that you start small with your figures so that you don’t need an armature or support structure inside of your creature.

Start out by rolling clay into several round or teardrop shapes. This will make up the torso and head of the animal. Next, roll out a few clay logs to make up the limbs. Sculpt the head, body, and limbs into the shapes that you desire. Score,slip, and attach each body part in the appropriate locations. Use your fingers, a sponge, paintbrush, or any clay tool of your choice to smooth out and sculpt together your figure. Now comes the fun part! Texture or carve any details that you’ll like onto your figurine. You can sculpt or carve dimensional feathers if you’re creating a bird or carve fur or hair. Sculpt or carve dimensional eyes, a nose, or anything else! Just make sure to attach everything well. Store and dry in your damp box. Fire in the kiln, glaze and refire. If this is not a functional piece, you can also paint the fired pottery.

4.Coil Pot Method Bowl

Next, let’s create a bowl using the coil pot method! These bowls make fun fruit baskets or catch all bowls, but the possibilities are endless with this form and method. Keep in mind that you can sculpt any size bowl or pot using this method. You are only limited by the amount of clay you have and the size of the kiln that you’ll be firing your work in.

Begin by rolling out your clay into long, evenly thick coils. If you need to roll out more as you go, that is totally fine. How you start your coil pot is up to you. You can either roll out a slab and cut a bottom to build your coils on top of or you can use a coil and create a spiral bottom. Next, build up the walls of your bowl by adding rows of clay coils, scoring and slipping in between each row. Your bowl can start large and get smaller, have a small bottom and get wider, or be all one width. The possibilities are endless and this is all up to your artistic vision!

Once you’ve added all the rows of coils you’d like, you can put the finishing touches on your bowl. You can use your fingers or a clay rib to smooth everything out. You an also leave it with the coiled walls, just make sure that everything is scored and slipped well so that the rows don’t crack apart or separate in the drying process or kiln. Fire your coil bowl. Glaze and refire for a food safe, finished bowl!

5.Slab Built Flower Pot

One of the first projects that I made as a beginner potter was a slab built flower pot. These are really fun to make and are a grate way to add some texture to your home. Another thing I love about these is that it’s okay if they turn out a little bit wonky. It simply adds character to your quirky, fun plant collection! You can use any clay of your choice, but I love using earthenware clay or terracotta for my flower pots and planters.

Start by rolling out fairly large slabs of clay. The size is up to you. Keep in mind that clay does shrink a bit during the drying process and in the kiln, so you’ll need to built your pot a little larger than you’d like the finished project to be. Cut out a shape for the base of your flower pot. The different shapes will dictate what form your flower pot will take to some degree so choose carefully. For example, if you cut a square as your base, you will need four sides to built up your flower pot. The result will be a square or rectangular planter. If you cut a circle, you will only need one piece of slab that will wrap around the base circle. The finished project would be a cylindrical pot.

Once you’ve chosen your flower pot’s base shape, cut out the necessary sides. You will use these sides to build a form sort of how you construct a gingerbread house so try and train your brain to look at it from a 3D standpoint.

This handbuilding technique gets a little tricky. You want your clay to be wet, but not so wet that when you construct your form it just falls over on itself. You also want all sides to have the same moisture level. Sometimes it’s a waiting game to get every piece at the same moisture level and that’s okay. With slab construction, it’s best not to rush. You don’t want your clay to be too dry either or else your joints where you attach everything will crack in the drying process.

Once your clay pieces are ready to be assembled, begin to build! Don’t forget to score and slip well at every attachment point. If you would like this flower pot to have a drainage hole, then carve out a hole on the pot bottom. Smooth and shape your flower pot however you’d like. Carve or texture according to your creativity and let it dry. Bisque fire it in the kiln, glaze, and refire. You can also paint flowerpots if you don’t have access to glaze.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed making some of these easy pottery ideas! I think they make great handmade gifts. They’re also a lot of fun to make in a group of family or friends so find your crafting buddy and give this tutorial a share! Don’t get discouraged if your projects aren’t perfect. Clay is a fun medium, but it takes getting used to. The more you make, the better you’ll get! There is beauty in the journey!

Blessings,

Samm