Taking It Further
You have your basic form open, now let's refine it and avoid the most common problems.
Even Walls
The goal is walls that are the same thickness all the way around and from bottom to rim. To check:
- Hold the pot up to a light source and look through the walls. Thinner spots let more light through.
- Gently squeeze around the outside: you can feel thick and thin spots.
When you find a thick area, pinch just there. When you find a thin area, leave it alone.
Cracks at the Rim
The rim almost always wants to crack. This is because it gets thinner and drier faster than the rest of the pot.
The Fix: Dip a finger in water and smooth the rim regularly. Never let it dry out. You can also compress the rim between two fingers at regular intervals.
The Flat Bottom Problem
Round-bottomed pots tip over! To flatten the base:
- Set the pot down on the table and gently press the bottom flat.
- You can also paddle the base softly with a small flat tool.
Surface Cracks While Pinching
If you see hairline cracks forming on the surface, the clay is drying too fast as you work.
The Fix: Work more quickly, or cover the pot with plastic for a minute to let the surface re-hydrate slightly.
Upgrade Drill
Make three pinch pots in one session:
- Pot 1: focus on even wall thickness.
- Pot 2: focus on clean rim compression.
- Pot 3: focus on shape control and stable base.
Target one skill per pot and improvement accelerates fast.
Pro Tip
Two pinch pots joined rim-to-rim make a hollow sphere: the starting point for animals, rattle beads, and closed forms!
Go Deeper
Joining two pinch pots rim-to-rim requires slip as a bonding agent, the same liquid clay used in all handbuilding joins. The light-test for checking wall thickness relies on the translucency of thin clay, a property that porcelain potters exploit deliberately in their finished work.
