How to Explore Shapes for Handbuilding | PIERANTOZZI

Summary

This instructional video script guides viewers on crafting circular templates for pottery, emphasizing the simplicity of creating cone-like forms from circles. It demonstrates using a compass or lids to find the center of a circle, cutting out sections to form different shapes, and using these as building blocks for various pottery forms. The script also covers techniques for attaching and shaping the clay, including using a mesh texture and ensuring the base is horizontal for stability. The process encourages experimentation with different sizes and configurations of circular templates to create unique pottery pieces.

Takeaways

• 📐 The process begins with creating circular templates, which are essential for forming conical shapes in pottery.
• 🎨 Circular templates offer a variety of shapes beyond rectangular ones, providing more design options for pottery.
• 📝 To create a circular template, start by drawing a circle and then cutting out sections to form different shapes.
• 🔄 The wider the section cut from the circle, the wider the resulting form will be, allowing for customization of the pottery's shape.
• 🏺 Building blocks are the fundamental techniques in pottery, which involve breaking down shapes into basic components and reassembling them.
• 🔄 The center point of the circle is crucial for maintaining symmetry and accuracy in the pottery's form.
• 📏 Cutting different configurations from the circle, such as a half or a quarter, results in different forms like bowls or pots.
• 🧱 Clay is a versatile medium that allows for pushing and personalizing pieces during the wet stage of the process.
• 🔧 Using a mesh texture, like a grocery bag, can add a unique touch to the pottery without the need for additional materials.
• 🛠 The template serves as a starting point, but the final form can be modified and adjusted based on the artist's vision.
• 🔍 When working with circular forms, it's important to ensure the base is flat and horizontal for proper attachment and stability.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is on creating circular templates for pottery, which can be used to form various shapes such as pots and bowls.

Why are circular templates different from rectangular ones in pottery?

Circular templates are different because they are used to create forms that are conical or have a rounded shape, unlike rectangular templates which are typically used for more square or rectangular shapes.

What materials can be used to create a circular template according to the script?

Newspaper, construction paper, or even clay can be used to create a circular template. The script also suggests using a compass or tracing lids to find the circle's center.

How does cutting out sections from a circle affect the form it creates in pottery?

Cutting out sections from a circle affects the width and shape of the form. The more sections you cut out, the wider the form will be, as each section represents a part of the 'pie' that will be the final shape.

What is the significance of the center point in creating a circular template?

The center point is crucial as it is the starting point for cutting out sections of the circle. It ensures that the radius remains consistent, which is important for the symmetry and shape of the final pottery form.

How does the script suggest using the circular template to create a pot or a bowl?

The script suggests cutting out a piece of clay from a larger slab and using the template to shape the clay. For a bowl, the template is cut in half, and for a pot, the full circle template is used, adjusting the base to ensure it is horizontal before attaching it.

What is the purpose of using a mesh texture in the video?

The mesh texture, made from a grocery bag in the video, is used to add a personalized touch to the pottery pieces. It allows the clay to be pushed and shaped in various ways during the wet stage of the clay.

Why is it important to ensure the base of the pottery is horizontal?

A horizontal base is important for attaching other parts of the pottery securely. It ensures that the piece is stable and that the surfaces align correctly when different sections are joined.

What technique does the script mention for attaching parts of the pottery together?

The script mentions scoring and flipping the edges of the clay pieces before attaching them. This technique helps to create a better bond between the pieces.

How does the script suggest sealing the seam of the pottery after attaching parts?

The script suggests using a wooden tool to push dried slip back into the seam of the pottery. This creates a seal that will hold as the clay dries.

What advice does the script give for those trying to work out their own templates on a circle?

The script advises starting small by making a small template and cutting out shapes in clay to see the results. Then, gradually increase the size of the templates to explore more possibilities.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Crafting Circular Templates for Pottery

The script begins with an introduction to creating circular templates for pottery, which are essential for shaping conical forms. The artist demonstrates how to use a compass or household items to draw circles and cut out sections from paper or clay. These sections can be adjusted to form different shapes, such as a wider point for a cone or a neck for a pot. The process is described as building with 'building blocks,' breaking down techniques into basic steps and recombining them to create various forms. The importance of the center point and maintaining the radius is emphasized for consistency in the shapes formed.

05:04

🛠 Shaping Clay with Templates and Personalization

In this paragraph, the focus shifts to utilizing the circular templates to shape clay into pottery forms. The artist explains how to adjust the template to create different pieces, such as bowls, and emphasizes the importance of ensuring a flat base for stability. The process involves pulling up the clay, smoothing the edges, and using a paddle to refine the shape. The artist also discusses personalizing the pottery by pushing and shaping the clay at the wet stage, allowing for unique designs. The summary concludes with advice on starting with small templates and gradually increasing complexity, encouraging experimentation with clay to understand the possibilities of form and design.

Keywords

💡Circular Templates

Circular templates refer to the foundational shapes used in pottery to create objects with a round or conical form. In the video, the artist uses circular templates to demonstrate how to form different shapes, such as pots and bowls, by cutting out sections from a clay slab. The concept is central to the theme of the video, which is about the process of creating pottery forms using basic geometric shapes.

💡Cone

A cone is a geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a wide base to a point. In pottery, cones are often created by using circular templates. The script mentions that everything that looks like a cone begins with a circle, indicating that the cone shape is a fundamental form in pottery, which can be achieved by manipulating circular templates.

💡Compass

A compass is a drawing tool used to create circles or circular arcs. In the context of the video, the artist suggests using a compass to draw the circular templates needed for pottery. It is an essential tool for accurately determining the center and radius of the circles that will be used to form the pottery pieces.

💡Clay

Clay is the primary material used in pottery. It is a malleable substance that can be shaped and molded into various forms. The script describes how clay is used to create templates and then shaped into different pottery items, highlighting its versatility and importance in the pottery-making process.

💡Construction Paper

Construction paper is a type of paper that is typically used for arts and crafts projects. In the video, the artist suggests using construction paper to practice making circular templates before working with clay, indicating its utility as a preliminary material for learning and experimenting with pottery techniques.

💡Center Point

The center point is the central point of a circle from which all radii are drawn. In pottery, the center point is crucial for symmetry and balance in the design. The script emphasizes the importance of finding and using the center point when cutting out sections of the clay to form the pottery shapes.

💡Cutting Out

Cutting out refers to the action of removing a portion of the clay or paper to create a specific shape or form. The video script describes the process of cutting out sections from a circular template to form the base shapes for various pottery items, such as pots and bowls.

💡Building Blocks

In the context of the video, building blocks are the fundamental techniques or shapes that can be combined or modified to create more complex forms. The artist uses the term to describe the process of breaking down pottery into basic shapes, such as circles, and then reassembling them to form different pottery items.

💡Slab

A slab in pottery refers to a flat, thick piece of clay that can be rolled out and used as a base for creating various shapes. The script mentions using a slab to cut out shapes using the circular templates, illustrating how slabs serve as the starting point for many pottery projects.

💡Texture

Texture in pottery refers to the surface quality or feel of the clay. The artist in the video uses a mesh grocery bag to create a textured surface on the clay, demonstrating how texture can add a unique and personalized touch to pottery pieces.

💡Paddle

A paddle is a tool used in pottery to shape and smooth the clay. In the script, the artist mentions using a paddle to tap and shape the clay after attaching different parts, showing its importance in refining the form and structure of the pottery.

💡Slip

Slip in pottery is a liquid mixture of clay and water that can be used as an adhesive to join pieces of clay together. The video script describes using slip to seal the seam between the base and the sides of a pot, highlighting its role in the construction process of pottery.

Highlights

Introduction to creating circular templates for pottery, which are different from rectangular ones.

Conical forms in pottery start with a circular template.

Using a compass or tracing lids to find the center of a circle for template creation.

Cutting out sections of a circle to form different shapes, like a cone or a pot's neck.

The concept of 'building blocks' in pottery, breaking down techniques into basics and recombining them.

Creating a template by cutting different configurations from a circle's center point.

Demonstration of how cutting more from a circle results in a wider form.

Using a template to create a pot by pulling clay around the template shape.

The importance of keeping the radius consistent when cutting and forming pots.

Using a mesh texture from a grocery bag for clay without needing cornstarch.

Personalizing pottery pieces by pushing textures into wet clay.

The process of attaching a base to a circular form and ensuring it's horizontal.

Using a paddle to tap and secure the clay form during the pottery process.

Adjusting the clay form to account for drying shrinkage and shifts.

Sealing the seam of a pottery piece with dried slip and a wooden tool.

Techniques for pushing out and shaping the flat areas of a pottery form.

Advice on starting small when creating your own pottery templates and gradually increasing size.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

so now we're going to start working on

how to arrive at circular templates

circular templates can give you

different kinds of forms than

rectangular ones and it's pretty simple

to arrive at a circular template even

though it may not seem simple everything

that looks like a cone or is in a

conical form begins with a circle so if

you take a circle and you can do some

drawings first but you could just get

some newspaper or some construction

paper

get yourself a compass or trace lids

plastic lids from your drawer find the

center and then start cutting out

sections and see what it does so here's

my center point my little dash lines are

my cut line so if I cut this piece out

of a piece of clay it will give me this

so the more you cut out the wider this

is going to be because whatever is here

ends up here so if you want a wider

point it form you just cut more of these

more of the pie out let's just say if

you want this to be say a neck for a pot

and not a cone you make a circle and

these are all building blocks I really

think of these techniques as building

blocks taking things breaking them down

into Basics and then putting them back

together to make form

there's my Center if I put another

circle within that circle I'm a little

off-center there but you get the idea

and I cut that same configuration out

coming from the center but remember this

is all empty now I've cut that out but

I'm always coming off that center point

here's what I'm cutting out and here's

what I'm cutting out you'll get this

because this is this and this is this so

it's pretty simple let's do another

circle find the center cut a circle out

if I follow off of the Centrepointe here

but instead of taking a quarter of the

pie out I take half of the pie out then

you end up with something like this a

bigger area because now this is this and

this is this

so this template you can see what this

template is that's your template so it's

basically that half so this particular

template if this were a big circle all

the way around and this was my center

keeping this being pointed to the center

right here is right here you cut it out

and then you can put it on your slab and

you pull it around to make a form that

is that way or this way if you cut it

down this is the same it's the same

plane same circle okay here we're

finishing the circle here you cut this

part down a little bit again we're

always coming off of the center point

that keeps the radius you bring this

around and that's a smaller pot so let's

make some pots with these templates and

you can see the possibilities so I've

cut out a piece of clay from my larger

slab and again you're always allowing a

little bit extra around what you need so

this fits into this piece of clay pretty

nicely and I'm gonna use this mesh

texture this is just mesh grocery bag I

really like it because it's so

changeable I don't need any kind of

cornstarch on this

so I'm just going to pull this set it on

there

and then pull this it opens it up a

little there and roll that in the great

thing about clay is it's you can push

anything into it and you can really

personalize your pieces by doing that

and it's happening all at the wet stage

which I really like you'll see that the

template is just a beginning point and

then you say well what if I made this

out of this what if I try to make this

out of this what if I cut this template

in half what would I get from that this

is going to be a bowl so this particular

time I'm gonna make a bowl out of this

and I set this up to find out how big a

bottom I need and whenever you're

working on a circular you're gonna have

that little bit of angle that happens so

it's very slight you don't see it as

much as when you dart something but it's

there so what you want to do is pull up

your the base so that you have a flat

you want that surface to be horizontal

so that you can attach something to it

you pull that base up

smooth it out get your round and then

your cutters out and see which one fits

that base pretty good

Hey all right I want to work and

depending on the size of your template

that that will be different each time

and I usually just give this a little

bit of a roll just smooth out those

edges because the edges kind of pull up

a little bit when you take the cutter

off always scoring and flipping

everything that gets attached and then

I'll just run my finger around that edge

to keep it clean and set that on there

and just give it a little push and then

I'll usually get a paddle and tap it

and once again I'm gonna just lightly

push in a little bit on the bottom so

that when it dries you're allowing for

that that shift that happens and you

flip this around on the inside I've let

the slip lose out and I'll let that dry

and go in again with my wooden tool and

push that dried slip back into that seam

and that's enough of a seal and now I'm

going to push this out

and always be thinking about where you

can take it so that's turning out to be

pretty nice I'm gonna go a little bit

more so now I'm gonna look from above

and see where all my flat areas are push

those out a little bit and in terms of

trying to work out templates for

yourself on a circle start small just

make a small one cut some things out in

clay see what it does and then make them

bigger

[Music]