Coil Built Vase.

Coil Built Vase.

I thought of the shape by wanting to do something original and slightly weird, I had seen things similar to this but nothing like this. I wanted something smooth that your eyes ran along it with ease. I didn’t want to give it a neck or just leave it open so I came up with the idea of putting a flat top on it and making an opening. I think this was a good idea as it gives a neat and crisp finish. I spent a lot of time considering how tall it would be and how drastic the edges were going to move out from the base. I made the pattern by doing sgraffito on one side and then painting the decorating slip on the other. I chose to do a line pattern because it shows the shape; it does this because the pattern is on a panel straight through the center of the vase. I am now waiting for it to dry and be fired. I am very happy with the way it looks now. I think it needed the pattern to compliment shape.

Making Process.

I had to choose the right die for the extruder, I wanted mid size coils so I went for a die with two holes. I made the base by rolling a coil tight to the size and shape I wanted and knitted them together on the top and bottom I then smoothed it off on both sides so that it was smooth and flat. I then added another coil to start building, I scored and put a small amount of water on the base where I wanted to put the coil. After placing the coil on the base I knit them together but before smoothing off the inside I fed a piece of clay to the join to give the vase stability. I added three of four more coils before I smoothed the edges. As I used the kidney to smooth the edges I put my hand on the other side of the piece of clay to take the pressure of my smoothing it; this stopped my clay from distorting or stretching.