Pottery tips and tricks by Mellie Knight

Starting off of course with clay, You cant make pottery without clay. There are blocks of clay for sale in the art center but why buy clay when you can forage your own. Below is a map of where I think is the most convienient place to forage clay. Once you find your way there simply <forage clay> If you own a pottery vest (which are for sale in the art center) you have 2 clay pouches. Each will hold either 5 blocks of clay or 10 lumps (lumps are blocks cut in half. Each block will make 2 pottery pieces)

After you have your clay simply follow the map back to the art center, find an empty booth and be creative. There are booths downstairs or you can climb the stairs to the upstairs social floor. For those of you who are bothered by crowds I would suggest downstairs. You'll need a clay cutter to start. You can purchase those on the first floor of the art center. There are also pottery manuals for sale that explain everything you need to know about the sculpting process. Im including the contents below.

Pottery Manual
By Arden Sutherland

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

Required:

Pottery wheel: a rotating wheel used to shape clay on.
A kiln: a sort of oven used to harden clay.
Block of clay: 1 block is good for two projects.
Clay cutter: used to cut the block into 2 lumps.

Optional:

Etching tool: used to etch words into soft clay after shaping.
Glazing brush: used to apply glaze to hardened clay.
Glaze: results in a glossy surface when applied to hard clay.
Cleaning water: cleans glaze off of a glazing brush.

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Shaping
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You're now ready to get started! However, there are a few important steps before shaping your clay on the wheel.

Cutting: This is where your clay cutter comes in handy. CUT your block of clay in half. You may also want to put one of your lumps away to avoid confusion.

Pressing: A vital step! Do not forget to press your clay before shaping! This will eliminate any air bubbles so that it won't explode while in the kiln. You can also press your clay after you shape it to start over, in case you forgot.

It's time to shape! This will take you a while at first, but eventually you'll be able to do it a bit quicker. Just SHAPE your clay into a project. Shaping your clay can be very relaxing, so sit back and enjoy it! The following page has a list of project suggestions.

You can shape your clay into the following projects:

small plate	mortar	small mug	stirring rod
large plate	pestle	large mug	butter dish
short vase	vial	jar	platter
tall vase	jewelry box	flower pot	candy dish
beer stien	ring case	small pitcher	fork
bottle	ashtray	large pitcher	spoon
tea cup	small bowl	casserole dish	spork
saucer	large bowl	cup	creamer
tea pot	flask	candle holder	sugar bowl
cosmetic case	goblet

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Etching
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Once your clay has been shaped, you can personalize it with an etching tool! Sign your name on all of your work, write a dedication to a friend, or even a poem! Make sure you are holding the shaped clay in one hand, and the tool in the other. Simply ETCH the words. You can add as many lines as you would like, but as one might expect, the longer the line, the longer it will take you to etch. Everyone makes mistakes! Don't worry, because you can always SMOOTH your clay with your hands and start the etching all over again.

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Baking
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There is a short waiting period as your clay hardens in the kiln. This is the easiest step, and requires nothing other than that you FIRE the kiln. This is also a good time to begin shaping another project! After the kiln is finished, it will beep. You can now open it and see the results! If you find broken pieces of clay, you have forgotten to press your clay! Shame on you!

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Glazing
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Glazing is an excellent way to add some extra appeal to project. It will also increase its value! Jars of glaze come in many different shades, are good for about five applications.

1. DIP your glazing brush in the jar of glaze.
2. Be quick! If you wait too long, the glaze will cake on your brush, and you'll need to dip it in water before trying again.
3. PAINT your project.

That is the final step to completing your pottery! You can now give it away as a gift, keep it for yourself, or sell it to an art dealer. I hope you enjoyed yourself, and I hope you will be inspired to try new things!

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Stenciling
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Pottery can become drab if you don't liven it up with a stencil and some nice paints! It's extemely simple, and just about anyone can do it well.

1. APPLY your stencil to your already shaped and fire clay project.
2. DIP your sponge in your paint of choice.
3. DAB your project with your sponge. You can add up to two colors! Just dip the sponge in a different color and dab again.
4. If you want to reuse your stencil sometime, you better PEEL your project to get it off.

Pottery is a very time consuming process, but it deffinately has its advantages. The first time you see an ordinary mortar and are offered 130 credits for it you will agree. Have fun creating!