What I love About Hand Building with Clay

When most think of pottery or taking a pottery or ceramics class, the first thing that pops to mind is a potter throwing a beautiful pot on a pottery wheel. Many potters, along with those who have “experiencing a pottery wheel class” on their bucket list may argue that taking the pottery wheel for a spin tops the pottery to-do list. I, however, beg to differ. I find the slow process of hand building with clay a relaxing, almost meditative process. The great thing about hand building with clay is virtually anyone can make amazing ceramic pieces with no experience. If you’re new to pottery or an experienced potter who hasn’t yet ventured into the hand building form, read on to see why it’s my preferred method. This blog post is from a photoshoot taken by the very talented David Fouts last fall after he and the equally talented, Austin Boaman approached Chase and me asking to create a documentary style short video that tells our story. These shots were taken in my backyard outside of my she-shed where Mud Hut got its start. For those of you who do not know, Chase and I are a mom and son team who took a risk on our passion and opened Mud Hut Pottery Studio in May of 2023. I still have a full-time day job so I’m not in the studio as much as I’d like to be but I am blessed beyond measure that Chase took a leap of faith in my crazy idea and left his career to operate the studio full-time. Okay, back to my photo story. I’d like to take you on a quick journey through my process of hand building and share not only what I enjoy about the process but also some of my favorite tools, and suppliers. There’s a bonus at the end for those who might be inspired to try out hand building after reading this blog post.

From opening a fresh bag of clay and cutting off a piece to the final product, the entire process of hand building with clay, to me, is not only satisfying, it’s rewarding. When I’m in the studio working on a new piece, I often find myself deep in thought. I typically have a hard time relaxing but I am at peace when I become one with the clay. There’s something magical that happens when I get a little bit of that mud on my hands. Some of my best life solutions come to me when I am manipulating a piece of clay. Pictured here is Chase cutting away about a two pound chunk from a 25 pound brick of fresh B-mix with sand from Aardvark Clay.

There are several basic methods of hand building with clay, such as pinch pots, and coil building, but my go-to is slab building. I like using templates and putting the pieces together like a puzzle. With slab building, the ceramicist takes a chuck of clay and can either pound it out, roll it out with a rolling pin, or use a slab roller. In our studio we covet our Shimpo Slab Roller. Here I am lifting up my slab after I rolled it between two sheets of canvas in the slab roller. I roll my slabs out to about a 1/2 inch.

After rolling out the slab, compressing is a must. Not only does it smooth out the clay, removing the canvas texture, compressing clay is even more scientific than aesthetic. Using the green Mud Tools rib pictured above, I am compressing the clay to strengthen it. Clay is full of molecules that separate while resting in the bag it’s packaged in. Compressing the clay forces the molecules together, thus strengthening the clay which also serves to slow down the drying, allowing the clay to dry evenly. Compressing also prevents warping and stress cracks. Believe it or not, I even find this part quite mesmerizing. When compressing a slab, you hold the rib at an angle and gently smooth out the slab moving across the slab vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. Once you finish one side, carefully flip over the slab and repeat on the back side. Avoid pressing too hard as this can make your slab a bit thin which makes it more challenging to work with.

Although I realize this photo shows my project almost finished, I love how it shows all my favorite tools. Usually at this point I have gathered my template and pottery tools. Some of my favorite tools pictured here are GR Forms wareboard, Mudtools sponge, & serrated and polymer ribs, Shimpo Banding Wheel, Kemper needle tool and fettling knife. I generally purchase my tools from Aardvark Clay. Laguna Clay, and The Ceramic Shop.

After the slab is rolled out and compressed, it is time to cut out the pieces using a needle tool or fettling knife. I often draw or measure out templates and then cut them out on craft foam. I also purchase templates others have created from Etsy.

Now to the fun part of putting the pieces together. When joining clay pieces together, it is imperative you do something called “scoring and slipping.” Although there are heated debates on what is required to attach or “glue” the clay pieces together, I use plain water. Many ceramicists use slip which is made from combining clay and water together to make a muddy paste. Others use vinegar, or a potion called “magic water,” which is a mixture of water, soda ash, and sodium silicate. I mostly work with soft or wet slabs and have great success with using plain water. First, taking a serrated rib or other scoring tool, you rough up the area where you want to attach the two pieces together. Then you apply the water or “slip” as the clay glue. Finally you join the two pieces together and smooth out the seam.

Once the pieces are joined together, using a rib helps to smooth the seams and clean up imperfections.

You can also use your fingers to smooth out edges. Sometimes a little drop of water helps, but less is more. Many tend to overdo the water. Avoid adding too much water because it can not only cause uneven drying leading to cracks, it can make your piece more challenging to work with. Unlike the wheel where water is needed to combat friction, hand building is better with added water.

A banding wheel also helps smooth out and clean up the piece.

A banding wheel can also help keep the piece in the round especially when adding the bottom.

I often get caught up in the smoothing, trimming and otherwise finishing my pieces. The possibilities are endless with finishing. Once the piece has stiffened up a bit, it gets easier to clean up. Once the piece is leather hard, it is even easier. You should always spend the time to clean up any small clay pieces I affectionately call these “clay boogers”), sharp or jagged edges. These will become razor sharp and unsightly after firing. The leather hard stage is also great time to add any carving or even apply underglaze and do a little Sgraffito.

Here I am cleaning up this Matcha bowl on the banding wheel using the Mud Tools Finishing Sponge…my favorite sponge out there.

You can see my satisfaction, joy and sense of accomplishment after completing this piece. The work isn’t done yet. This little guy needed to dry for about a week until it was what is referred to as “bone dry.” Then it was be bisque fired. Bisque firing is the first fire and gets the clay “as hard as a biscuit.” In our studio, bisque firing is about a 15 hour process. Once the bone dry pieces are loaded into our Skutt Electric Kiln, they are fired to cone 04 (1945 degrees F). After the pottery is cooled, it is unloaded from the kiln and dipped in glaze. The final firing is the glaze fire which is our studio is cone 5 (2167 degrees F) and takes about 7 hours plus the time for the kiln to cool down.

Here is the final result. This is a ceramic matcha bowl and whisk holder set that I made for David Fouts. It is glazed in Aardvark’s Cone 5 Tan from their Artist Series Glaze.

If you live in Southern California, our studio is located in Riverside, CA. I challenge you to try one of our hand building with clay classes. Book Here and use code SAVE10 to take $10 off your class.

Or for those ready to take their hand building to the next level, try one of our four week classes. Book Here and use code SAVE20 to take $20 off our four week classes for April or May.