Emily Myers - Potter

Ideas to Try

Making a coil pot

You will need:
self-hardening clay, or ordinary clay if you have access to a kiln
(Plasticine or Playdo are acceptable although less durable alternatives for younger children.)

1. Knead the clay until it is easy to work and bang out any air bubbles.

   Make a base for the pot either by pulling and cutting a flat round shape, or by using a continuous coil.

2. Score the base so the clay will stick to it better.

   Keep the clay damp at all times. Don’t try to join dry coils.

3. Roll out coils to build up the sides of the pot.

   Score each layer as you go so that the coils stick together well.

4. Be inventive in the way you use coils to build up the sides of the pot.

   

5. Either smooth the inside and outside of the pot or keep the coils as they are.

   Add handles or a rim to your pot.

   Decorate your pot with patterns. (Stone Age potters used all sorts of markings: cuts and holes as well as prints from thumbs, shells, seed prints to decorate their pottery.)

6. Allow your pot to dry. Fire and glaze if it is ordinary clay. Paint if it is self-hardening clay.