Throwing Very Large Bowl | Step-by-step Tutorial

2) Matching the coils pint of contact is really important. The technique below will insure a perfect match and a solid connection.

Cut both layers straight down

Remove the loose ends

Top piece will fit perfectly

Squeeze and center first coil

4) The rim of the second layer is now thinner and might not take the weight of compressing in the third coil. After rolling the coil, place some pressure on top to flatten the bottom as shown below.

Even walls and raise wall slightly

Third coil with flat bottom

Place as show and cut ends

Cross section of third coil

5) Once wall is even but still pretty thick, raise the walls starting from the bottom. Compress the walls every so often with two ribs.

Wet coil

Compress and pull a bit

Start from bottom and pull

Compress walls using two ribs

6) In this commission project, they asked for groves on the outside of the pot. This process is skipped in this tutorial.
When the pot is leather hard enough to remove and place on a slab, make 1/2" thick slab, smooth and place on a larger wooden bat. Wooden bat will help with more even drying and will not warp as the pot is carried around. Mark the dimensions of the pot on the slab with the wet sponge so that the pot can be placed accurately on center.

Pot is ready for removal

1/2" thick slab

place slab on wooden bat

Smooth and wet slab

7) Use two people, four hands, to carry the pot onto the center of the already wet slab. Wet the slab with a lot of water so that altering can be easier sliding the walls to their new location.

Two people to place pot on slab

Wet slab with a sponge

Alter shape to desired shape

Place coil in seam

8) Use very soft coil on the inside to blend the seam and smooth with a tool. We like to use Sherrill Mud tools red rib. When using the pint tool to cut off excess slab, turn the wheel by hand while your other hand remain in the same location.

Smooth inside with a rib

Blend in the outside wall into slab

Cut off slab while turning wheel

Smooth and compress seam

9) The walls might shift as they become more leather hard. Using some heavy clay post as shown below will help in keeping the walls in place. Use an extruder to make the rim.

Place some weight to hold walls

Cover loosely for several hours

Extruded soft coils

Score rim

10) Using Magic Water instead of slip is a much preferred way with larger forms. To know more about magic water and it's recipe see Magic Water Link. The coil for the rim needs to be soft for better attach em net. However, to smooth it, it is better to wait a few hours to let is harden a bit.

Magic water is a better option

Place coil on rim

Fill in the gaps with thin coil

Round top (red rib)

11) Make the handle thick and strong enough to carry the pot's weight.

A 28" long, 17: wide and 12" tall

Placing the handles

Handle - close up

12) Below is another pot (24") that used the same coiling / slab technique but without altering.

Three coils 24" pot

handle close up

All finished

Drying
1) Cover tight and let the clay moisture content equalize for 2-3 days.
2) Cover the whole pot loosely for 1-2 weeks and make sure the rim does not dry first. If the rim drys first on such large bowl, cracking at the rim's is very likely. Drying Tip: Flip the plastic cover once a day while drying. The moisture that accumulates on the plastic surface will be facing up after flipping, thus, removing water a bit faster from the enclosed large pot.
3) Before trimming, make sure the pot is on the harder side of "leather hard" to insure the pot does not warps when it is flipped over for trimming. See trimming over a foam tutorial.