A lidded pinch pot is made from two humble bowls: one becomes the pot, the other becomes the lid. The difficulty is not in pinching either form, but in keeping them related. Their clay must be similarly moist, their rims must remain round, and the base must be finished with enough care that the little vessel settles firmly on the table.
For a first attempt, make a pot no wider than the span of your palm. Small work is easier to support in the hand, but it also shows unevenness quickly. Work slowly, keep the clay covered whenever you pause, and fit the lid before either piece has dried too far.
Materials and preparation
Gather the following:
- Mid-fire clay
- Wooden rib
- Needle tool
- Metal scraper
- Small sponge
- Plastic wrap
You will also need a clean, absorbent work surface and a little water. Use water sparingly. Wet clay may feel cooperative at first, but excess moisture weakens thin areas and encourages uneven drying later.
Choose a clay body suitable for hand building. A lightly grogged clay can give useful support, though a smoother clay will also work if you handle it gently. Avoid mixing different clays in the same pot unless they are known to mature and shrink together.
Wedge the clay until it feels even and free of hard seams. This does not need to be an elaborate ritual for such a small piece, but the clay should be consistent in moisture and texture. Divide it into two portions: make one portion slightly larger for the pot body and one slightly smaller for the lid. A small extra piece will be useful for the knob and for any minor repairs.
Photo by Vanessa Dyste on Unsplash.
1. Form the pot body
Roll the larger portion into a smooth ball. Hold it in one hand and press your thumb into the centre with the other, stopping before you reach the palm beneath. Leave a substantial clay floor at first. It is easier to thin a heavy base than to repair a base that has been pushed through.
Turn the ball as you pinch. Use the thumb inside and fingers outside, moving around the wall in small overlapping presses. Do not squeeze one area repeatedly while leaving the rest untouched. A good rhythm is to pinch once, rotate a little, then pinch again.
Aim for walls of broadly even thickness. They do not need to be measured exactly, but the rim, shoulder, and lower wall should feel related when gently pressed between finger and thumb. If the rim begins to widen too quickly, support the outside with your hand as you pinch. If it becomes oval, set the pot down briefly and nudge it back into a circle with both hands.
Keep the pot modestly open. A very narrow mouth is difficult to fit with a pinch-made lid, while an extremely wide rim gives the lid little guidance. A gentle bowl-like opening is the most forgiving shape.
Flatten the base while the clay is still soft
Set the pot on the work surface without forcing it down. Observe it from the side. If it rocks, identify the highest point on the underside rather than pressing the whole vessel flat.
Use the metal scraper to shave away a very small amount from the high area. Hold the scraper nearly flat and take light passes. Then set the pot down again. Repeat only as needed. This preserves the form better than pushing the soft base against the table.
When the pot rests without rocking, smooth the underside lightly with a barely damp sponge or the wooden rib. Do not polish it aggressively. A little texture is preferable to a smeared, weakened floor.
2. Refine the rim and make a gallery
The lid needs a seat. This is often called a gallery: a small inward ledge just below the rim that supports the lid and helps keep it from slipping into the pot.
First, tidy the rim. Compress it gently by supporting the outside with one finger while your other finger passes around the inside edge. This simple compression helps the rim remain sound as it dries. Keep the rim level by checking it from the side and turning the pot as you work.
To form the gallery, place a finger inside the pot about 6 to 10 millimetres below the rim. With a supporting finger outside, gently press the wall inward around the circumference. The result should be a shallow shelf, not a deep neck. The opening above the gallery must still be wide enough for the lid to lift out easily.
Use the wooden rib to neaten the inside where the ledge meets the wall. A clean gallery gives the lid a predictable resting place. If the clay has become too soft to hold the ledge, cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap and let it firm for a short while before continuing.
Photo by Oshin Khandelwal on Unsplash.
3. Make the lid as a matching shallow bowl
Roll the smaller portion of clay into a ball and make another pinch pot. This one should be shallow and slightly wider than the opening of the vessel. Begin as before: press in with the thumb, then pinch and rotate until the walls are even.
The lid should resemble a low bowl turned upside down. Its edge will eventually sit on the gallery inside the pot. Keep the centre of the lid a little thicker than the outer edge, particularly if you plan to add a knob. This gives the attachment a stronger foundation.
Do not attempt to make the lid fit perfectly while both pieces are very soft. At this stage, focus on making a calm, even form with a rim that remains round.
Set the lid over the pot opening and assess its size. It should cover the rim without falling far into the vessel. If it is too large, trim a little from the edge with the needle tool, then smooth the cut edge. If it is too small, do not stretch it abruptly. Instead, support the lid in one hand and gently widen the wall through a few careful pinches around the circumference.
4. Let both pieces reach leather-hard together
A proper fit is easiest when the pot and lid have stiffened somewhat but can still be adjusted. This is the leather-hard stage: the clay no longer bends like soft dough, yet it can be carved, scraped, and gently pressed without crumbling.
Place the lid on the pot and cover both pieces loosely with plastic wrap. The wrap should slow evaporation, not seal wet clay so tightly that moisture gathers on the surface. If your room is dry, place the covered pot in a simple damp box or beneath an upturned container with a small gap for air.
Check the pieces from time to time. The lid must dry with the pot rather than separately. If the lid dries much faster, it may shrink sooner and become too tight. If the pot dries faster, the lid may become loose or fail to sit level.
When the clay is leather-hard, fit the lid again. Rotate it gently until it finds its best position on the gallery. Use the needle tool to make a small alignment mark under the lid and a corresponding mark inside the pot rim. These marks are discreet, but they save uncertainty after glaze firing.
Adjust the fit with small removals
If the lid catches on one point, use the metal scraper or needle tool to remove a little clay from the underside edge of the lid or from the gallery. Remove material gradually. It is far easier to take away a thin shaving than to rebuild an over-trimmed ledge.
The lid should settle onto the gallery without force. It should not bind tightly, because clay changes slightly through drying and firing. Nor should it rattle loosely. A gentle, stable seat is enough.
Photo by Monika Bienert on Unsplash.
5. Add a simple knob
A small knob makes the lid easier to lift and gives the form a useful centre. Keep it simple: a rounded button, low dome, or small coil curled into a handle is usually more dependable than a tall, delicate ornament.
Make the knob from the reserved clay and let it firm slightly if it is very soft. Score the base of the knob and the centre of the lid with the needle tool. Add a small amount of clay slurry made from the same clay and water, then press the knob in place. Blend the join with a small coil of soft clay if needed, smoothing it into both surfaces.
Support the underside of the lid while attaching the knob. Pressing down onto an unsupported lid can distort its curve or crack the centre. Once attached, lift the lid by the knob only after the join has begun to firm.
6. Finish the surfaces and dry slowly
Use a wooden rib or barely damp sponge to soften rough pinch marks where desired. Leave some evidence of the hand if it suits the piece, but remove sharp ridges, thin flakes, and deep finger grooves. These areas are more likely to dry unevenly.
Check the base one last time. Place the pot on a flat surface and test for rocking with a light touch. If it wobbles at leather-hard stage, scrape the high point carefully from the underside. Avoid flattening the whole base; this can make the floor too thin at the edges.
Dry the pot with the lid resting in place, but do not seal the vessel completely. A narrow strip of folded paper or a small soft clay spacer can keep a slight air gap if the lid closes too tightly. This allows the inner rim and gallery to dry at a similar pace to the outside.
Cover the work loosely with plastic wrap for the first part of drying, especially around the rim, lid edge, and knob attachment. Uncover it gradually as the clay stiffens. Rapid drying is a common cause of cracks, particularly where thick and thin areas meet.
When the piece is fully dry, it is ready for bisque firing according to the requirements of your clay and kiln. After bisque, glaze the pot and lid with care. Avoid applying heavy glaze to the gallery and lid contact areas unless you plan to sand or clean those surfaces after firing. Glaze can fuse a fitted lid to the pot.
Useful mistakes to avoid
Making the lid after the pot has already dried
A lid made from fresh clay will shrink on a different schedule from a nearly dry pot. Make both forms in the same session and keep them together through drying.
Leaving a thick, damp base
A heavy floor dries slowly while thin walls dry quickly. Pinch and refine the base until it relates to the wall thickness, then scrape it flat rather than pressing it down.
Forcing the lid to fit
If the lid is tight, do not twist or press it into the opening. This can distort the gallery, crack the rim, or make the fit worse. Trim and test in small stages at leather-hard.
Using too much water for smoothing
Water turns the surface slippery and can hide weak areas until drying begins. Use a sponge only slightly damp, and let the wooden rib do most of the refining.
Drying the lid upside down away from the pot
The lid may warp or shrink unevenly if it is dried apart. Keep it on the pot whenever possible, with enough air movement to prevent dampness from lingering inside.
A well-made lidded pinch pot does not need elaborate decoration to feel complete. Its success is in the quiet details: a base that settles, a rim that stays round, a lid that lifts easily, and clay that has been given time to dry evenly.