I have never done much coil building, but after seeing Joyce Michaud’s DVD Hand Thrown: East Asian Wedged Coil Technique, I am thinking about reacquainting myself with the good ol’ coil. In this DVD, Joyce demonstrates the traditional east Asian coil technique, which combines coiling with potter’s wheel concepts.

 

In this clip, Joyce shows us how to “hand throw” with the grace and fluidity of someone who has been doing this for a long time (I am sure it is a lot harder than she makes it look). During this demonstration, she explains how this method can make work more structurally sound because it compresses and aligns the clay particles with the form, which can then open the doors for trying new and more-challenging forms. Along the way, she passes on great tips such as a cool way to establish a concave foot on a coil-built piece. – Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

 

 



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This clip was excerpted from Hand Thrown: East Asian Wedged Coil,
which is available in the Ceramic Arts Daily Bookstore.

 

 

Coil-built form by Joyce Michaud

 

 

  

For more interesting handbuilding techniques, download your free copy of Five Great Handbuilding Techniques: Variations on Classic Techniques for Making Contemporary Handbuilt Pottery.