I love working with clay for a variety of reasons. It is a naturally beautiful color, it can be molded into just about anything, it adds an earthy touch to the home and quite frankly, it's fun to squish. Working with clay can be a relaxing, solitary activity to calm any stressful thoughts from a long day of work, or it can be a fun activity to do with friends. One basic and extremely calming project is to make a pinch pot.
These pots are not too challenging to cause anybody to get upset, although personally, I could sit for hours trying to perfect the roundness.
How to make a clay pinch pot:
You will need:
~ A big block of air drying clay - You're local craft store probably supplies this. I got an 11 pound (5 kg) block of clay for $17.00, but there are smaller blocks for sale if you don't think you will use the clay often.
~ Wire clay cutter - This is just a piece of flexible, medium thick wire with two handles on either end so you can easily cut off a chunk of clay. You could make your own without too much trouble.
~ Pencil - Or any other sort of pointy object that is not too thick.
~ Small bowl of water - You may need to dip your fingers in this to keep the clay moist. After a while the clay will start to dry a little. This makes it harder to mold and a lot less fun. Nobody likes dried up clay.
Instructions:
1. The first step is to roll a ball about the size of your palm. You can get a pretty spherical shape by roughly rolling the clay in your palms and then tossing the ball from hand to hand until the clay looks nice and even. No need to be a perfectionist!
2. Smooth over any cracks with your fingers. To do this, smooth the clay horizontally over the crack until it is no longer visible.
3. Now the fun begins. With your thumb, make a hole about 3/4 deep into the center of the ball. Some clay might get under your nails, which I think is a little gross, but that's just my clean freak shining through.
4. With your thumb in the center and your other 4 fingers supporting the clay from the outside, evenly pinch all around the pot. Do not pinch too hard. You can repeat this step many times until the walls of the pot begin to thin out and the opening starts to widen.
Be careful not to pinch the top rim of the pot. The rim will start to widen on it's own.
5. By now you should have a cute little pot forming! Go back and smooth any cracks that have formed and try to keep all of the walls as evenly thick as possible.
6. Use your pencil (or other sharp and pointy object) to poke 3 tiny holes in the bottom of the pot. This is to let the excess water drain after watering the plant that goes inside. Pretty doesn't matter because the soil is going to cover any imperfections.
7. Allow your pot to air dry for 2-3 days. Keep it in sunlight to get the process going a little faster.
The clay will change to a lighter color as the pot begins to dry.
As you can see, I decided to get fancy and curve the rim of my pot outwards to create a little more shape. This is totally optional. You can do anything you want with the pot now! The pinch pot is the most basic form.
After I made my first pinch pot, I got a little excited and made a second larger pot and stuck a face on it. He is a weirdo but I am a fan.
I haven't repotted my plants yet but I will as soon as I buy more soil. Until then, enjoy this un potted plant shoved into my newly made clay pot!
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