Double Pinch Construction

The second project we did in class was the double pinch method. It was a bit more challenging than the first. My imagination and creativity just wasn't coming to me. I knew it would look like a vase, but I didn't want just any vase. So I decided to just build the first part of the double pinch pot to get started and see if something would come to mind.

I had a difficult time making the first pinch pot round with an even thickness all around. It started cracking a little so I moved to the bottom to make the leg. When I felt that the leg was okay enough, I fixed the cracked areas around the lip by using water to smooth it out. When I was done with the first pinch pot, making a pitcher came to mind. I imagined the bottom of the pitcher to be round and kind of short, and the neck long and slim. So I tried again to make the pot wider around but I just couldn't. I moved on to the second. The second didn't need a leg because there will be an opening on the top.

After making the second pinch pot, I needed to make sure the lip of both pots were the same size. The second pinch pot was a little bigger, so made it smaller by choking the lip. I combined both pinch pots together with slip.

I used a wooden thumb to blend the seam of the pot. That way the lines don't show. I think that blending helps the pot to be stronger in a way. Anyways, I continued blending until the seam of the pot wasn't visible. Then I used a ribbed tool to smooth out the double pinch pot.

Because the form of the double pinch pot didn't turn out how I wanted, I decided to change the outcome. Instead of a pitcher, I would make a rose-looking vase. I was inspired by a pitcher my grandma use to have. I found a paper towel roll in class and used that as a template for my petals and used a needle tool to cut out the circle. I combined the petals to the pot with slip. I started with one layer of petals then created a second layer.

              

I decided to make one more layer of petals to give it a full flower look.

             

UPDATE:

Completed Double Pinch

Pinch Pot Construction

The first project the class was assigned to do was to create a pot using the pinch construction method. The pinch construction method is sculpting clay by pinching it. It is a very easy process for those who have experience working with clay. For first-timers, it is more difficult than it looks. I am new to the concept of pottery and the process is fun, tiring, and adventurous.

The first step in pinch construction is to take moist clay and kind of slap it into a ball. Slapping the clay allows it to compress and remove any air sockets. When the clay is balled up, we dipped our hands in water and moved our hands around the clay. The water smooths out the clay, removing any lines.

In the second step, we push our thumb in the middle of the clay while turning the clay in our hand. The clay starts to expand up and out, making a round bowl. I had a difficult time making the bowl wide. Instead of expanding out, the clay expanded up, giving the bowl an oval shape.

The third step was to make a leg. The process is similar to the second step except that once you get the hole in the center, you pinch the outside of pot to gather clay. That gives the leg thickness and allows it to jut out. Making the leg was another challenge I faced while constructing my pinch pot. The clay was gathered more in one area. At this point, I was thinking of giving my pinch pot a more symmetrical look to it so I decided to make the leg square.

I continued trying to pinch my clay into a round bowl. After a while, I decided to make my clay square. I made the straight part of the lip correspond with each corner of the leg and vice versa. Trying to make the clay square was challenging. Most of the time was spent trying to even out the thickness of the clay and straightening the lip of the clay.

The outcome wasn't how I wanted but because it was wavy and had a topsy-turvy look to it, I thought it would look really nice if it was filled with seashells. I used a seashell stamp to stamp all four sides of the bowl. I became happy with the ending result.

UPDATE:

Finished Pinch Pot

The glaze was too thick but this is the outcome.