Beginning PotteryKit

The Foundations of Hand-Building

A Beginners Kit for Children Ages 7 and Up

This beginning curriculum provides the important first steps for parents and their children age 7 and above to begin handbuilding pottery at home. Our craftsmen potters have practised these same methods in not only producing their own range of hand-built pottery, but in teaching hand-building techniques to others through the years.

At each level, we show the three most recognized methods used universally in hand built pottery—the pinch pot method, the coil method and slab the method. The pinch pot is the simplest of all vessels made, using the fingers to shape and form the pot. The walls of the coil pots are built from successive layers of coiled clay with a rolled slab base, while for the slab method, we roll out slabs of clay which we then cut to shape and size to form the base and walls of a pot. These three methods provide the foundation for traditional hand-built pottery.

As children work successively through the three levels, they will develop their skills through the projects they make. Each level contains three projects designed to reinforce the techniques and skills learned in the previous levels. The nine projects follow simple and concise instruction developed for parents to work progressively with their children. We suggest children work through each exercise beginning with Level One, so they can learn the working properties of the clay and how and when to use the various tools.

For ordering information, call Homestead Heritage • 254/ 754-9600 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. (CST) Monday through Saturday

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