Impressive Pinch Pots

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Ancient Pottery

Methods of forming pottery: Hand-shaping was the earliest method used to form vessels. This included the combination of pinching and coiling.

A thumb pot (or pinch pot) is an ancient form of pottery and it is the simplest form of pottery. The pinching method is a means to create pottery that can be ornamental or functional, and has been widely employed across cultures and times.

Archeology of Pottery

For archaeologists, anthropologists and historians the study of pottery can help to provide an insight into past cultures.

Pottery is durable, and fragments, at least, often survive long after artifacts made from less-durable materials such as grasses, bone, or glass decayed or been distroyed past recognition.

Combined with other evidence, the study of pottery artifacts is helpful in the development of theories on the organization, economic condition and the cultural development of the societies that produced or acquired pottery.

Examples of Ancient Pinch Pots

Impressive Pinch Pot Vases Pinch pot vases are

reasonably simple to make and so, are a great beginning project. These vases incorporate the pinch pot method and scoring and slipping with additive features.

mouth

neck

body

base

Students learn the parts of a vase, devise five types of their own creation drawing them as thumbnail sketches before they are given clay, and produce at least three of their ideas.

Designs are impressed, or stamped into two separate clay buttons for two sides of the pot.

Finally, students will test different glazes on the vases.

Continued Impressive Pinch Pot Vases

Primary Learning Outcome:

Familiarity with the medium one is working with is important in the creation of art.

Students will understand and practice manipulation of the type of clay available to them.

Students will discover and perfect basic construction methods and decorative methods, as well as observing the qualities of basic commercial glazes over textured and smooth surfaces.

This is also a good time for students to learn how to set up, put away, and properly use the equipment, materials, and tools they need to create their products.

How to Make a Pinch Pot

http://www.ehow.com/video_4438013_make-pinch-pot.html

Tips and Tricks for Pinch Pots

Here are some pointers for creating pinch pots:

work in a spiral from bottom to top

use the tip of your thumb on the interior, while supporting the exterior with your other

hand

minor stretch cracks can be left as a textural effect, if desired

deep cracks should be welded immediately using a tiny amount of slurry or slip

rims can be left untrimmed or they can be trimmed with a potter's needle when the pot

is leather-hard

the pot can be smoothed, or even burnished with a wooden rib, when the pot is leather-

hard

Stages of making a pot

1. Read, quiz and think2. Design and draw3. Create 3 separate pots (see next slide if you need

extra time to work on the pot)4. Finish smooth or texture5. Air dry, after one- two days it should be leather-

hard6. Leather hard can be cut or add-on pieces with

score and slip method7. Complete dry8. Bisque fire (cone 04)9. Glaze pot AND use wax resist on the bottom of

the pots10. Final fire (cone 06)

Pinched forms can take more time to create than we have in one sitting. When you have to leave your work while it is in progress, place damp paper towels across the top row. Cover the entire piece with plastic.

If you should need the bottom of the pot to stiffen slightly, leave

some gaps where the plastic meets the table or shelf. Otherwise, tuck

the plastic under the support surface. If the humidity is high, add a

layer of newspaper or cloth in between the pot and the plastic. This

will absorb any condensation, which could otherwise make your pot

collapse.

Taking a Break

Definition: Wax Resist (noun) is a waxy substance used to prevent slips or glazes from adhering onto the clay body or a prior coating of slip, etc. A resist is especially helpful in keeping glaze from adhering to a pot's base, and in the case of a lidded jar, from keeping the areas the lid and the jar meet free from glaze.

In the past, wax resists where simply melted wax; today there are a number of wax emulsions, including many which are water-based.

Wax resist can also used in decoration. The resist can be used both under or over underglazes, glazes, and slips to create designs.

Bowl with wax resist design

Resist on the bottom on the pot

After wax is applied, it is cut away before glazing to keep some of the pot natural

Wax Resist

Ideas for Your PotsThis pot is best if made small

Ancient Pottery, Pinch Pot Quiz Name________________________

1. What is the oldest method of pot making? A. slab rolling B. coiling pots C. purchase at

Walmart D. Pinch pots

2. Who studies “old pots” to discover about civilizations? A. archeologist B. historians

C. anthropologists D. all of the above

3. How many sketches minimum do you need to make before you get your clay? A. 1 B. 3

C. 5 D. 7

4. What is score and slip? A. a new type of pizza B. making grooves on wet/leather hard clay and

using the slip as a glue C. a baseball term D. none of the above

5. What is the top of the vase called? A. mouth B. neck C. body D. base

6. A glaze is: A. applied after the bisque fire B. a chemical C. adds color or protection to a pot D.

all of the above

7. How is wax resist used: A. to remove unwanted hair B. keep glaze from the bottom of a pot C.

for crayon drawings D. never as a decorative property

8. What is leather hard? A. a Marine term B. used to make saddles C. point where clay is hard but

not dry D. last stage in pottery making

9. Cone 04 is the firing level for: A. glazes B. first fire C. last fire D. never used

10. If you run out of time in class and your pot is not done: A. give up B. ask for a pass for PE C.

cover the pot with plastic and damp paper D. Throw the pot away

1. DESIGN 10 9 8 7 6 5 Other2. CONSTRUCTION 10 9 8 7 6 5

Other 3. CRAFTSMANSHIP 10 9 8 7 6 5 Other4. PATTERNS/TEXTURES 10 9 8 7 6 5

Other 5. GLAZING 10 9 8 7 6 5 Other 6. One aspect about this project that I learned

___________________________________________7. Did you wax resist the bottom of the pots to keep

glaze from the shelf? YES NO8. Was this a project you would consider revising for

your final? YES NO

Ancient Pottery, Pinch Pot Student Evaluation

Name______________________________________ Dated ________________