Curriculum

Making Bowls: Workshop One

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From small sauce cups to soup bowls, colanders and big bread bowls… bowls of all shapes and sizes are probably the most used ‘tools’ in any kitchen.

They're usually one of the first shapes we potters learn to make… and one we continue to make often because of the many variations that are possible with this basic form. It's one of what I call the ‘triplets’ of clay: one of the three basic forms, with the cup and plate, from which many other pottery shapes are derived.

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Mastering the making of small simple pots and then moving on to larger more complicated forms as our skills and muscle memory develop is part of the natural progression of learning to make good pots. And the bowl, because of its many possible variations, is an ideal form to make as we quickly advance our skills and work on developing our voice in clay. I do look forward to making bowls with you!

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Simple Bowls... the Beginning​

•  Introduction 

•  Making (51 min.) 

•  Finishing (22 min.) 

•  BONUS: Photo Gallery     

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Spouted Bowls and Pasta Bowls​

•  Introduction 

•  Making (48 min.) 

•  Finishing (39 min.) 

•  BONUS: Photo Gallery

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Salad Bowls

•  Introduction 

•  Making (39 min.) 

•  Finishing (30 min.) 

•  BONUS: Photo Gallery

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Making Bowls: Workshop Two... Advanced Projects

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In lesson #1 of the 3 in this advanced series of bowl making I’ll start by sharing with you the making steps of five formal bowls. And what is a   formal bowl? To me, it’s a bowl that doesn’t get much practical kitchen use and often ends up as part of a dining table center piece. This will become clearer as I describe and demo the making of the first three bowls.

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In lesson #2 I'm going to demo the making of five bowls using 2 to 6 lbs. of clay. After throwing each bowl I’ll show you how I use some simple hand-tools - or my fingertips - to alter each one of them in some curious ways. And I'll make those alterations right after throwing each bowl as it sits wet on the wheel head.

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Lesson #3 is all about Making MORE Useful Bowls…

Many of the pots we make are what I call single-sellers. What does that mean? Single-sellers are the functional pots that nobody ever buys in a set. Like… who needs a set of six covered butter dishes? Or a set of eight honey pots?!

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Some of the single-sellers in this lesson are some of the most marketable pots I make, and I’ll demo the making steps of 4 of them for you. I'm also going to share with you the making of two similar pots, each with different twist… pots that often DO sell in sets or pairs.

BONUS BOWLS!

There are 3 bowl bonus projects that are well worth mastering.

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And now that you have an idea of what Making Bowls Workshop #2 is all about, join me and make your best bowls ever! I hope to see you there!

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Formal Bowls

•  Introduction 

•  Making (42 min.) 

•  Finishing (32 min.) 

•  Bonus Lesson (7 min.) 

•  BONUS: Photo Gallery

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Bowls with Altered Rims​​

•  Introduction 

•  Making (39 min.) 

•  Finishing (20 min.)

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More Useful Bowls​

•  Introduction 

•  Making (46 min.) 

•  Finishing (58 min.) 

•  BONUS: Photo Gallery

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 Bonuses​

•  Introduction 

•  Large Bowl with Decoracted Rim (14 min.) 

•  Nesting Bowls (20 min.) 

•  Intersecting Bowls (31 min.)

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Resources​​

•  Videos from my YouTube Channel that Compliment the Lessons

•  Weights and Measures

•  Bill van Gilder Glaze Recipes

• ...and more.