How to Make a Ceramic Vase ¦ Handbuilding Pottery Tutorial.

If you think making a ceramic vase without a pottery wheel is difficult, this video is for you. Today I'm going to show you the entire process, step by step, from a simple piece of clay to the finished vase. So let's get started! First, choose the right clay for your project. For this piece I'm using red clay. After firing, this clay develops a beautiful, warm, brick red color. We're going to start by making a slab. Wedge your clay really well first and then begin flattening and rolling it out, just as you can see me doing here. While I'm making the slab, I like to gently compress and tap the clay. This helps me make sure there aren't any air pockets trapped inside. If you do notice an air bubble, don't worry. You can simply open that area, remove the trapped air and compress the clay again, just like I'm doing here. Once you're happy with your slab, clean and smooth the surface. Now we need two molds that are exactly the same size. Place your first mold over the slab and cut the clay to match the opening of the mold. Then, place the second mold on top of the first one. Then, using a piece of fabric, gently press the slab down into the mold. The fabric helps you shape the clay without leaving too many marks or damaging the surface. Take your time and let the clay gradually take the shape of the mold. Then repeat exactly the same process for your second slab. Now we're going to leave both pieces aside until the clay reaches a leather hard stage. While we're waiting, we can prepare a coil. Try to make your coil as even and clean as possible, because we're going to use it to join the two halves of our vase together. Once the slabs are firm enough, carefully remove the first one from its mold. As you can see, it now has a beautiful bowl-like shape. I placed the first slab on top of the second one, Place it inside a slightly smaller bowl while I'm working. This gives the clay some support and prevents it from collapsing or losing its shape while I'm joining the pieces. Now we can start attaching our coil around the edge. Work slowly and make sure the connection is strong, smooth and even all the way around. This is an important part of the process, so don't rush it. Next, take the second half and cut out the opening for the neck of the vase. Then, carefully place it over the first half and begin joining the two pieces together. Just follow the process you can see here and take your time with the connection. Here's a little tip. You'll notice that I'm gently tapping the clay with a spoon. These soft, controlled taps help compress the clay around the joint, remove any small air pockets that may still be trapped there and create a cleaner, stronger form. Once the main body is finished, we can move on to the neck and the handle. I build both of these using coils as well and then carefully blend and attach them to the body of the vase. And once everything is finished, it's time to be patient. I leave the piece to firm up very slowly. This can take several days and that's completely fine. I don't move on to the next stage until the vase is much firmer almost dry and strong enough to work on without changing its shape. After a few days, we can start working on the surface. And this is where things get really interesting. For the neck of my vase, I start with a layer of colored engobe. Then, I add the mixture that I used to create this textured surface. I'll leave the exact ingredients and proportions I used for this texture in the video description, so you can try it yourself if you'd like. So, once the engobe and the mixture are applied, I use vinegar to create this reaction and develop the texture you can see on the surface. One important tip here, don't use too much vinegar. Adding too much can cause the clay or the surface layer to crack, so start with a small amount and gradually add more if you need it. There are, of course, other ways to create similar ceramic textures, but this is the technique I used for this particular piece. Once everything is finished, I let the vase dry completely before firing it. And that's it! A ceramic vase made completely by hand without using a pottery wheel. I hope you enjoyed watching the process, and I hope it inspires you to try making your own. If you enjoyed the video, please give it a hype, share it with someone who loves pottery, and let me know what you think of the finished piece in the comments. Thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you in the next one!