1. Make two pinch pots that are similar sizes. For a larger hollow form, make pinch pots that are 3-4" in diameter. For small hollow forms, make 1-2" pinch pots. I you are a beginner, start with smaller pinch pots. And if you don't know how to make a pinch pot yet, check out our, "How to Make a Pinch Pot," blog
2. If you want to make a ceramic rattle, make 2 to 3 small clay balls, approximately 1/4" wide. These will become the "rattle" noise inside the hollow form. (You can skip this step if you don't want to make a rattle.)
3. Wrap the clay balls in tissue or small bits of paper towel. This step ensures that the clay balls will not stick to the inside of the hollow form. (You can skip this step if you don't want to make a rattle.)
4. Place the tissue wrapped balls of clay inside one of your pinch pots. (You can skip this step if you don't want to make a rattle.)
5. Use a ceramic pin tool (or fork, knife or toothpick) to score (make little scratches) around the edges of both pinch pots.
6. Add a few drops of water to the edge of one pinch pot. DO NOT add a lot of water. Adding too much water makes the clay slippery and it will be harder to attach the pinch pots cleanly.
7. Line the pinch pots up, edge to edge, and close them together like a clam shell. If you are making a rattle, make sure your tissue wrapped clay balls are inside the pinch pots.
8. Gently press the pinch pot edges together. Use your finger to press and smooth the clay back and forth across the seam to connect the two pots together.
9. As you connect the two pots, you can smooth out the seam as you go.
10. You can make your hollow form into something fun! I am going to make mine into a little peach rattle. Using the handle of a pin tool, you can gently indent your hollow form to add peachy dimension! But you can also just keep it as a simple ball, or a more abstract form.
11. To add a a leaf to my peach, I made a flat leaf shape by cutting out of some left over clay with a pin tool. To attach the leaf, I will scratch the bottom of the leaf, and scratch onto the hollow form where I want to connect them. Add a tiny bit of water to the scratches and gently press the leaf onto the form.
12. This is the most important step!Using a pin tool or tooth pick, poke a hole through the pinch pot wall, into the base of your hollow form. If you don't do this, your project will explode in the kiln when it is getting fired. Why? As the kiln heats up, so does the air inside your project. And because hot air expands, without a hole to escape from, your hollow form will literally blow apart! BOOM! But as long as the hole goes completely through the pinch pot wall, you'll be fine.
13. Add any extra details you want to adorn your hollow form. I added a stem and leaf to to complete my peach rattle and I think it's super cute. You can also add
texture if you want! Check out the next blog for
how to watercolor clay after firing.
