Pottery can be shaped by a range of methods, below you can read about some of them and see the ceramics made by talented artists from all over the world.

 

Handbuilding

Handbuilding" is working with clay by hand using only simple tools, not the pottery wheel. Before potters had the wheel, they were creating beautiful pots and clay forms using clay, their hands and fingers, and basic hand tools. Below are the three most common forms of creating hand built pots: pinch pot, coiling and slab techniques. Most do not realize the infinite world of hand building and the artistic possibilities it opens.

See all the handbuild ceramics here

Slab Building

Hand-building pottery using slabs of clay is an exciting way to create shapes that could never be produced using a potter's wheel or that would be difficult to achieve if you are doing hand construction using coils of clay.

What makes these creations unique is the hand artistry and the type of potter's clay you use. Slab pots can be produced using soft slabs and stiff slabs. You can roll out the slabs by hand or use machines to roll out the slabs.

See all the slab-build ceramics here

Hand casted 

There are many forming techniques to make pottery, but one example is casting. This is where slip or, liquid clay, is poured into a plaster mold. The water in the slip is drawn out into the walls of the plaster mould, leaving an inside layer of solid clay. Which hardens quickly. When dry, the solid clay can then also be removed. The slip used in slip casting is often liquefied with a substance that reduces the need for additional water to soften the slip; this prevents excessive shrinkage which occurs when a piece containing a lot of water dries.

Slip-casting methods provide superior surface quality, density, and uniformity. 

See all the slip-casted ceramics here

Hand thrown

Hand-thrown pottery - all made on the pottery wheel. Some are thrown in porcelain others in stoneware. Even though the technique is the same - the result is so unique and different from artist to artist.

See all the hand thrown ceramics here

Raku

Raku ware (楽焼 raku-yaki) is a type of Japanese pottery traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies, most often in the form of Chawan - tea bowls. It is traditionally characterized by being hand-shaped rather than thrown; fairly porous vessels, which result from low firing temperatures. In the traditional Japanese process, the fired raku piece is removed from the hot kiln and is allowed to cool in the open air. The familiar technique of placing the ware in a container filled with combustible material is not a traditional Raku practice. Raku techniques have been modified by contemporary potters worldwide.

See all the Raku ceramics here