What Is A Pinch Pot In Ceramics

Her exasperation resonated earlier this summer as my umpteenth introduction to pinch pots drew near.

What is a pinch pot in ceramics.

When you make clay pinch pots a simple project for kids you can make an effort to find many ways to decorate them and embellish them. Simple clay vessels such as bowls and cups of various sizes can be formed and shaped by hand using a methodical pinching process in which the clay walls are thinned by pinching. The pinching method is to create pottery that can be ornamental or functional and has been widely employed across culture. Pinch pots have been produced for centuries and they are among the easiest types of pottery to create.

Air dry clay can be decorated with latex and acrylic paints. If you re not sure if working with clay is for you then starting with a pinch pot is a perfect economic test run. But that doesn t mean you can t make sophisticated forms with the technique. For this reason archaeologists suspect that pinch pots are probably one of the oldest forms of pottery and ample evidence at historical sites supports this theory.

Due to the technique s limitations most pinch pots are fairly small holding perhaps one cup to one and a half cups by volume. The pinch pot technique is often the first thing taught to beginning potters because it is a good way to get familiar with the properties of clay. A more recently made better version of this video can be found here in this playlist. My aversion to pinch pots began a couple of years ago at a communal ceramics studio in manhattan.

Pinch pots can range from chunky substantial pieces to very thin walled and delicate pieces. Stay tuned for the next video which shows how to add pieces to the pinch pot to make a creature. This video shows how to make a basic pinch pot out of clay. Pinch pot vessels can be decorated in many ways but there does seem to be an added affinity between pinch pots and burnishing a method that brings a gloss to unglazed pieces.

If you re planning on using your pinch pot to store or serve dried foods you will need to varnish the surface of the clay. Purchase a food safe professional varnish and apply four to five coats to the surface of the pot. A pinch pot is a type of hand formed pot. You can actually learn more about the world of pottery and get beautiful art ideas once you start on your pinch pot journey.

Decorate an air dried pinch pot. Most pinched pottery is less than 6 inches in diameter but it can be larger. However you can make larger pinch pots if you really put your mind to it.