Ceramic Platter

Create ornate details into this platter with your fingers, hands and ceramic tools!

That's Clever! : Episode HCLVR-244 -- More Projects »

Project by Cat Jarosz from Leicester, N.C.

Cat Jarosz appreciates the art in everyday life and enjoys making ceramic items that are beautiful as well as functional. She has always channeled her energy into creating art. When she started studying pottery, she had all kinds of side jobs to pay the rent, including working at the sewer department. She enjoys living in the Asheville area, which has gone from "having the proverbial tumbleweeds rolling down the street" to a thriving artistic community. When she is not in the studio, she is e-mailing her many potter friends, learning to drive a motorcycle, or visiting art festivals and car shows. Her husband and their very large Airedale terrier, Curly, often accompany her.

Materials:

potters wheel
extruder
electric kiln
gas kiln
stoneware clay
porcelain slip
bucket of water
glaze and overspray
needle tool
cutoff wire
templates
sivider wheel
hole punch
calipers
sponge
rubber ribs
sanding wheel
air compressor
airbrush
wax
50-grit sandpaper
green scrubbies
trimming tool
brush
dye bottle (for squeezing dots of slip)
wedging table
bat and bat pins
cutting blade and various carving tools
slip
respirator
wire for hanging

Steps:

1. Cut about 18 lbs. of clay off a 25 lb. square block using the cutoff wire.

2. Wedge the clay on the wedging table to condition and pre-shape it before throwing it on the wheel.

3. Firmly attach the clay onto a bat that has been attached to the wheel head via bat pins.

4. Have a bucket of water and sponge at the wheel to lubricate the clay in the throwing process. Slowly turn the wheel, building up speed as you get a feel for how well attached the clay is to the bat. Center the clay using fast speeds and by pressing down with the heel of your hand while pushing inward with the other hand.

Figure A

5. Flatten the clay into a pancake shape the desired width of the platter bottom (figure A).

6. Poke a hole in the middle of the pancake with your fingers to move the wall a little bit to check the thickness of the bottom and make adjustments. Leave enough thickness for a hefty foot rim to be trimmed later. Use the bottom of a screwdriver and a needle tool to help compress and to check the thickness of bottom. The thickness should be approximately 3/8 inch.

Figure B

7. Use your fingers and hands to pull or push the walls outward leaving the bottom as flat and even as possible. Run a rib back and forth to compress the bottom. This is an important step as the base is under tremendous stress when drying and may crack if not tended to properly. Add a detail swirl to the middle of the platter by pressing one finger starting in the middle of the bottom and as the wheel turns lifting up. It forms a nice swirl (figure B).

Figure C

8. Pull up the walls of the bowl.

Use your fingers, knuckle and a sponge with water to squeeze and pull the mound of clay upward.
It takes three or more pulls to thin this area out and attain the height.
After every pull compress the rim to give it strength.

9. Flatten the standing wall outward and downward with the palm of your hand to make the wide rim (figure C). Remove excess clay on the bottom of the platter with a hook tool.

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Also in this Episode

That's Clever! : Episode HCLVR-244
•	Mixed Media Story Box
•	Tin and Glass Table Lamp
•	Ceramic Platter
•	Ancient Glass Love Shrine

Crafts

Ceramic Platter

Create ornate details into this platter with your fingers, hands and ceramic tools!

Tools

MOST POPULAR

Crafts

Ceramic Platter

Create ornate details into this platter with your fingers, hands and ceramic tools!

Tools

MOST POPULAR

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