Hot Ceramics & Pottery How-Tos
How To: Throw a clay corner wall vase with Simon Leach
Making a round clay vase on a wheel that will hang properly in a corner may sound like a challenge, but with Simon Leach to teach you, even an amateur at-home potter should be able to complete this ceramics project. If you want to avoid griping like he does throughout this video, make sure not to use a plastic bat!
How To: Throw a false bottom on a ceramic flower pot
If you are a homemade ceramics enthustiast, chances are at some point you've thrown a pot where the bottom has come out too thin. This video from Simon Leach teaches you how to throw a false bottom for just such a pot so that the precious time you've invested into th piece of pottery doesn't go to waste.
How To: Pack an electric kiln with pottery
Any prolific potter will know that fitting all of you creations into your electric kiln can be like putting a jigsaw puzzle together, except the pieces are pieces of your heart. This handy video from Simon Leach offers advice on techniques for and a demonstration of packing your kiln properly to avoid damaging any of your precious pots while still firing them successfully.
How To: Trim a ceramic pot on a wheel
English pottery instructor Simon Leach has stepped out onto his lovely deck to teach us how to trim our ceramic pots on the wheel. His example piece is small cup or pot that begins the video as plain as vanilla and ends it as a wonderfully detailed piece after only 10 minutes or so of work.
How To: Throw a lamp base
You all the know the scene from Ghost? Where Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore are sitting and they are trying to make something using the machine? It's one of the most iconic scenes out there. Anyways, this video isn't about ghosts, or either of those actors, but rather that machine and what it can do. This tutorial will show you how to throw a lamp base easily. Enjoy!
How To: Make a polymer clay dog bead
If you are making a funky homemade charm bracelet or necklace, have a look at this tutorial. In it, you will learn how to make a polymer clay bead shaped like a cartoon dog. This is a great bead to use for a gift for the dog lover in your life. It won't take long to make this cute little guy and whomever you make it for will really appreciate it. This little bead has tons of personality. So, why not grab some clay and get molding.. this puppy can't wait to meet you!
How To: Make coils with clay
In this how to video, you will how to create clay coils. You will need clay about the size of your fist, water, and a knife. Pound the clay 200 times to get all the air out. Cut a slice from the clay and roll it in your hands. It should be a log shape. Now place it on a surface. Roll it back and forth until it is to the thickness you want. Water the clay coils and score the ends of it. Push the ends together and rub all the cracks out with water so that it sticks. Wet the sides of the two coi...
How To: Make a polymer clay spider
This cool tutorial is perfect for teachers or parents interested in keeping their little ones entertained. You'll be finding out how to make a polymer clay spider with ease. These spiders are cute and sure won't scare anybody since they're fake and too big to be real spiders. Enjoy!
How To: Apply a terra cotta slip to a pot
A terra cotta slip can add flair and durability to any pot that you've made at home, and also allow you to make up for inconsistencies in the composition of your clay. This video from Simon Leach shows you how to apply just such a terra cotta slip to a clay pot, an important technique to improve you pottery and ceramics skills.
How To: Make miniture roses for craft projects
In this video hosted by Paper Cat Designs, learn how to make adorable miniature paper roses to add to your spring arts & crafts projects. Apply these little paper roses to your scrapbooks, mini albums, favor boxes, journal pages, or even as wine glass charms to add a small touch of beauty! Get creative this spring with help from this video demonstraton.
How To: Pierce carve a clay pottery bowl
Ingleton Pottery demonstrates how to pierce carve a clay pottery bowl. First, form your bowl on a potter's wheel. Then take a blade to the undried clay bowl and score your design into the bowl using the piercing technique. Gently press out the design so that the clay is removed from the negative space created by the scoring marks. Continue making the design around the bowl. You can make intricate designs around the bowl using the piercing and scoring technique. Be careful not to damage the bo...
How To: Throw a giant clay pottery novelty goblet
IngletonPottery demonstrates how to create a giant clay pottery novelty goblet in less than eight minutes in this video. The goblet can be used as a decorative piece or it can be used to drink from. The choices are endless for this giant piece of art. The giant goblet begins as a big blob of clay. A portion of the clay is wet and the spinning table begins. While the clay is wet it is placed on the spinning table and then the molding process begins. To mold the clay requires concentration and ...
How To: Throw a wavy edged pottery bowl
This video illustrates the method of throwing a wavy edged pottery bowl. This process comprises of the following stepsStep 1This process needs clay, pottery wheel and water in a bowl.Step 2Place the clay on the moving wheel.Step 3Now give the clay a desired shape with the help of your hands.Step 4keep wetting your hands at desired intervals and insert your fingers inside the clay so that it gives you the shape of a bowl.Step 5When your desired shape and size is ready take the clay bowl out of...
How To: Throw a simple small flattened pottery salt holder
This video demonstrates how to throw a simple clay pot: a flattened salt holder. In order to throw this simple clay pottery piece, you will need: clay, a pottery wheel, and water.
How To: Throw a big pottery mixing bowl
First of all you have to put some clay over the potter wheel. Now add some water and then press hard with your fingers at the bottom. Now slowly release the pressure of your hands and bring your hands upwards while slowly releasing the pressure. This shall form an inverted cone shape. Now apply pressure with your thumbs at the top to depress in the top and then wash your hands with water. Now use your thumbs to make this hole bigger. Now put a little water in this hole and then use your finge...
How To: Throw a simple terracotta wall hanging vase
In this how-to video, you will learn how to create a simple terracotta clay wall hanging vase with a pottery wheel. Begin by throwing a piece of clay on the pottery wheel. Now, make a circular shape with the clay. Next, widen the shape and then make a bowl shape inside. Now, bring the shape up so that it is elongated. Keep doing this until you get to the desired shape. Now, narrow the base of the clay. Make sure that the width tapers smoothly. Now, refine the top and inside of the clay. Take ...
How To: Throw a chip and dip pottery plate
Ingelton Pottery demonstrates how to throw a chip and dip pottery plate. First, well a ball of clay and put it on a pottery wheel. Use your hands and ample amounts of water to depress the sides of the clay forming an indented rim with a raised center. Use your thumb to define the center hub. Create a thin side to the plate. Wet your hands and press down on the center hub, creating a depression. The plate should now have a two bowls with one sitting inside of the other one. Use a blade to scra...
How To: Throw a clay pottery fruit bowl
To throw a clay pottery fruit bowl, place a lump of clay on the potter's wheel and wet it with water. Use the foot pedals to spin the wheel while shaping the clay with your hands. Draw the clay up and then use your thumbs to create an indentation in the center of the clay. Apply slight pressure and the clay should assume a bowl form. Use water as necessary to create the right clay consistency. Draw the clay up to make the bowl walls thin. While shaping the bowl walls with one hand, create a r...
How To: Make a desk organizer out of clay
This video illustrate us how to make a desk organizer out of clay. Here are the following steps:Step 1: First of all take clay in different colors and now shape them round.Step 2: Now take one ball and press it into a flat sheet.step 3: Now take another ball and shape them in cylinders.Step 3: Now place these cylinders on the flat sheet keeping space between them.Step 4: Now take two balls and make small vessel out of these two balls .Step 5: Place these vessels between the cylinders, these v...
How To: Use a pugmill in pottery throwing
This video shows the method to use a puggmill in pottery throwing. Take the two packets of clay and take the clay out on the table. Take a thread and cut the two pieces of clay in the middle to form four bricks. Put the bricks in the puggmill one by one and wait for it to come out. The pugged clay comes out from the bottom in a cylindrical shape. Take out the four cylinders from the four bricks of clay. After this, put the cylinders in the pugmill again so that they are pugged thoroughly. Put...
How To: Throw and carve a double walled pottery vase
This video illustrate how to throw and carve a double walled pottery vase. Here are the following steps.Step 1: First of all take a potters wheel.Step 2: Now take clay and put it on the wheel and rotate the wheel.Step 3: Make inner and outer partition and slowly shape the inner clay into long vessel shape.Step 4: Now take the outer clay and shape it into vessel, now join the neck of this vessel to the inner vessel and shape it into a vase.Step 5: After the pot has half dried cut the outer bou...
How To: Throw a terracotta long tom flower pot
You start out with putting a rater big lump of clay on the potter's wheel (the turn table if you want) and make sure you got water close by. By using your hands and your fingers you then start to shape the clay lump into the size you want it. Keeping both the clay and the hands wet all the time. Once the pot starts to get the size you want it to be, you start to give it a more detailed shape. In this case it is a bit wider in the top than in the bottom. Once your satisfied with the shape, you...
How To: Throw a small jug and handle
In this how-to video, you will learn how to make a small jug with a handle using a wheel. Place the clay onto the wheel and start spinning it. Grasp it with your hands as it spins and make a vertical shape. Use your thumbs to make the interior bowl shape. Now, use your hands to make the clay more vertical. Keep doing this until you get the desired height. Now, insert your hand into the interior to widen the shape. Make the top more narrow with your fingers. Make the edge stick out as well wit...
How To: Have two faceting techniques with Simon Leach
In this video, ceramic artist Simon Leach demonstrates and shows you two different faceting techniques, when potting. The first technique is complete shaving to add more dimension to, your ashtray or small bowl. The second is a half way shave, for a different yet fun look to your pots.
How To: Make ceramic coggles (small wheels) with Simon Leach
This excellent three part series takes you from beginning to end on how to make ceramic coggles, or small wheels. You'll learn how to properly spin your glan, glaze your result, as well as how to properly light your kiln. This series is great for any ceramic student, at any level.
How To: Make a mini polymer clay hot dog for a dollhouse
Create a loaded hot dog perfect for any dollhouse kitchen! Learn to create a hot dog topped with ketchup, mustard, sauerkraut, cheese, onions, and relish all out of polymer clay! First start the onions out of translucent clay. Roll it out in the pasta machine and cut off little strips and bake them. For cheese take strips of orange clay and cut them at an angle. Do this same technique for the relish, the sauerkraut, mustard and ketchup. To create the hot dog roll out a brown colored piece of ...
How To: Make a mini polymer clay birthday cake for a dollhouse
Garden Imagination shows viewers how to make a polymer clay mini birthday cake for your dollhouse. First you will want to start off with yellow clay and roll it out on your pasta machine at level 1. Fold this yellow clay in half and use a shape cutter to cut out the cake. You can find a shape cutter at Hobby Lobby and use a circle scare or any shape you want. Cut out two pieces - one for the top and one for the bottom. Next, you will want to use size 8 font on your computer and type "Happy Bi...
How To: Make a bunny bead out of polymer clay
This art and craft video shows you how to create a bunny head out of polymer clay. You start it by creating a round ball for the bunny head. You can then make it into a bead by using a small screwdriver (if you wish it to be a bead). You then take some additional clay and shape it into flat ears, fold them over to make them look floppy and attach them onto the round ball (head). The presenter then shows you how to add eyes, by pressing beads onto the face of the bunny using a needle. You can ...
How To: Make a baby girl or baby boy polymer clay bead
This video shows how to make a bay girl and boy head made of clay. The first thing you need to do is get a small round ball of clay that is a skin color color. Then you get the small black beads and place it firmly on the ball they will act as the eyes. Then make the eye creases on the side of both eyes. After that you add the other physical features like nose, mouth, ears, and eyebrows. The last thing you do is fold two square pieces of clay into the shape of a bow then place it on the top o...
How To: Make a polymer clay rainbow cane
This video explains how to make a polymer clay "rainbow cane," which, amongst other things, can be used to make jewelry or pendants. First, you must run a conditioned piece of each color of clay through a pasta machine. Then, cut each color into a square, and from there cut each square diagonally, creating triangles. Arrange the triangles side by side and attach them together, so that you create a large rectangle of the colors. Run this rectangle through the pasta machine several times, until...
How To: Make a polymer clay zebra bead
This video demonstrates the making of zebra beads presented by Garden of Imagination. To make zebra beads, take white and black clay. First take the white clay and flatten it and then do the same with the black clay. Arrange them in five flatten layers one white strip and other black strip respectively. Cut it with cutter and fold around (up, down, right, left) the round bead of white clay and roll it in your palm to make it round. To make it as a bead poke it with pokeyard from both the side...
How To: Make a steampunk bunny
This video teaches you how to make a steampunk bunny. You want to start off by making a blob with a fairly light color. Then you want to use a sharp stainless steel tool to create a round head. Make sure to make the head of the bunny is forwarded a little bit so that it looks like a bunny. Next, using your hands create a tail in the back of the bunny. Insert one of the bigger eyes using the little wire. Go ahead take your tool and carve out the nose, the cheeks and the mouth. Next you want to...
How To: Make mini polymer clay pancakes for a dollhouse
Garden of Imagination teaches viewers how to make cute and adorable mini polymer clay pancakes for a dollhouse or decoration. First start out with a wooden square to put the finished product on. Next, start out with light brown clay and roll it out on a clay setting number 4 on the pasta machine. Next, use a circle cutter to cute the shape of pancake. Next, texture the pancake so it look doughy and make sure the edges are not too straight. Make three of these pancakes and place them on the wo...
How To: Make a mini polymer clay hamburger for a dollhouse
Using multiple layers of clay, garden of imagination shows how to make a hamburger and fries out of polymer clay. This decorative item would then be placed into a miniature dollhouse being displayed as a food item. She rolls a peppercorn on brown clay to give it the texture of meat. She mixes together green and whit clay for lettuce, and uses another piece of clay to ruffle the edges of the lettuce. She uses small round cuts of clay for tomatoes. Using an embroidery needle with a clay handle ...
How To: Work with paperclay & molds
Terri Sproul shows you how to Work with Paperclay and Molds. Make a ball of paperclay and push it firmly into the center of the home-made or ready-made Mold. Make the surface of the Paperclay level with the surface of the Mold, adding more Paperclay if necessary, and removing any excess with your fingers. The molding putty that the Mold is made from is flexible, so hold the edges of the mold with your fingers and gently push the center of the Mold with your thumbs, this will push the molded P...
How To: Make a mini banana polymer clay bead
Translucent, yellow and brown clays are needed to make the banana. For the covering mix the translucent and yellow clays. Another translucent mixed with a little yellow is needed for the flesh of the banana. The seeds are made with the brown mixed with translucent rolled out very thin. The rolled light yellow clay needs to be twisted into the shape of a triangle vertical. Take a translucent rolled flat and place the yellow clay and cut little clay and roll it together into a very thin roll. T...
How To: Make a mini penguin polymer clay bead
A piece of orange clay is rolled down to diameter of desired width of beak, and rolled down further at 1 end to make a point. Cone shape is cut to length of beak desired. A black ball of polymer clay is made. Base of orange beak is blended onto it. 2 clear seed beads are picked up individually with a pointed stick and pressed into head above beak. Stick is used to make 2 eye creases at right side of right eye and eyebrow over left eye. Repeat on other side. 2 flat oval pieces of orange clay a...
How To: Use Japanese air dry clay
The clay dries by air and you don't have to put it into the oven. The clay isn't brittle and doesn't crack like some of the other clays. The clay bends really easily and is very transparent. Consider that this air dry clay shrinks. The moisture is premixed in the clay. The shrinkage is handy for someone making larger projects. You can use pigment inks, powdered pigments and paints on the air dry clay just like you would use with regular polymer clay. You can also use cutters and findings on t...
How To: Make your own paperclay molds
This video shows you how to make a flexible mold using Amazing Molding Putty. You can make molds of just about anything that has the desired shape and texture you want.
How To: Make a miniature ceramics mold using resin
This video demonstrates how to make a miniature ceramics mold using resin. The object being made is a small saucepan for a doll house. A product called "AMAZING Mold Putty" is used. It is non toxic and can even be used for food. It comes in two tubes. One is yellow and one is white. Take a blob from each tube and make sure they are of equal size. Blend the two blobs together. You must work fast because the material becomes completely hard in 30 minutes. You probably have only three or four mi...