Clay needs to be pliable and clean, with an even consistency. It needs to have the right water content, and not contain air bubbles. Wedging is an essential step in how to prepare your clay for pottery. It can help adjust the water content, consistency, and air pockets in clay.

Re-claimed clay requires storage for at least a few weeks to restore plasticity, but the longer it is stored the better it will be. Keep it in sealed plastic bags and label the bags with dates and clay type. Store in a cool but dry place until ready to use.

Suggested tools are:

1. Towels and possibly an apron.
2. A small bucket for holding water or slurry as you work.
3. Two to three large buckets for cleanup water.
4. One or more sponges for carrying water to the clay and for cleaning.
5. A large, soft brush (Sumi or bamboo are good)
6. A wooden modeling (trimming) tool.
7. A potter’s needle.

Forming Clay

• Hand-building. Handbuilding is exactly what it sounds like; using your hands to form an object out of clay.
• Slab Building. A process whereby slabs of clay are rolled or pounded out, either by hand, with a slab roller or rolling pin, and then used to construct objects or vessels.
• Coiling.
• Throwing.
• Extruding.
• Slip Casting.

The most common handbuilding techniques are pinch pottery, coil building, and slab building. To make a pinch pot, one inserts a thumb into a ball of clay and continually pinches the the clay between the thumb and fingers while rotating to thin out and raise the height of the vessel.

5 Ceramic Techniques You Need to Know

• The relationship between hands and clay is the basis of the ceramic art form.
• Slab Construction.
• Coil Construction.
• Wheel Throwing / Hand Throwing.
• Slip Casting.

Polymer clay

Material and Color Modeling clay is an oil-based compound, while polymer clay is polyvinyl chloride, a plastic-based material. Both materials are available in a wide range of colors, but polymer clay has more options in faux colors, such as granite or translucent shades.

Natural Cold Porcelain Clay

It is perfectly safe to cure or bake polymer clay in your home oven. If you burn polymer clay, small amounts of irritating vapor can be emitted, so ventilate the room if this happens. It’s best if you don’t use your polymer clay tools with other crafts and in the kitchen.

Though polymer and cold porcelain are quite common as clay, they come with too much plasticity. Though the views about it are not so clear that this kind of clay can be used for the potter’s wheel. But it comes with enough fiber, which makes it steadier enough on the wheel.

Polymer is a lower maintenance material than ceramic. Polymer clay, unlike ceramic clay, will not dry out if left in the open air. Polymer clay can be hardened in a domestic household oven, while ceramics need to be cured in a kiln which has much higher temperatures than a regular oven can attain.

thanks for the answer! You probably already have the earthen clay, but it is in fact possible to throw polymer clay on a rotating wheel, though it’s not often done. There are lots of other ways to make vessels of all kinds, sizes and shapes using polymer clay though.

Porcelain and kaolin clays are virtually identical and are considered the best clays available for making pottery. They are also the most expensive. They are a largely silicate clay and are resistant to high temperatures. If you want to make high-quality ware, then this type of clay is best for you.

You cannot fire pottery clay in an oven because you cannot get high enough temperatures although you can fire pottery in an oven and that would be the way I would recommend if you have small children.

Self-hardening clay, also known as air-dried or non-firing clay, is a direct modeling material that cures naturally and does not require mold making and casting to achieve a finished piece. In addition, this modeling clay does not need to be fired in a kiln.

Clay that is fired fast must be TOTALLY dry before it hits the steam forming temperature. When firing without a kiln, it may help to pre-dry you clay pieces in a kitchen oven set to 190 degrees F. With a kitchen oven, the pots are dried by “baking” below the boiling temperature of water for several hours.

The answer is yes; you can make pottery without a kiln. In fact, you can totally fire pottery without a kiln, and here, we’ll discuss how you can do so, and even some ways to make alternatives to a traditional kiln, and why it’s essential to know this.