So, you want to learn how to make a berry bowl out of pottery? It’s such a rewarding process! There’s something special about creating a functional and beautiful piece that you can use every day. A berry bowl is essentially a small colander, perfect for washing and serving berries (or any small fruit, really!). They often come with a little dish to catch the drips, keeping things tidy. Let’s dive into the process, from start to finish.
Gathering Your Supplies
First, let’s talk about the stuff you’ll need. Clay is your most important ingredient, of course. While the provided articles do not mention a specific type of clay for berry bowls, you’ll want to use a clay that is food-safe, durable, and able to withstand the glazing and firing process. Stoneware is generally a good choice. If you’re looking for inspiration, you might enjoy seeing a set of stoneware berry bowls with reactive glaze. In terms of tools, you’ll need the basics: a pottery wheel (though hand-building is an option too!), wedging table, sponges, buckets of water, and towels. To create the essential drainage holes, you can use a needle tool, Jack Richeson Clay Hole Cutters, or even a lightweight cordless drill with a bit around ⅛ inch. You might find inspiration from this article about multi-purpose berry bowls. Mudtools Small Red Rib and a 57PCS Ceramic Clay Tools Set might also come in handy. Consider browsing a selection of berry bowl supplies online to ensure you have everything you need. If you use a drill, a stiff brush is needed to clear away the burrs and crumbs of clay from the inside after drilling, and a countersink bit can be used to bevel the edge of every hole inside and out. If you’re new to pottery, you can always start with Pottery 101: A Beginner’s Guide to get acquainted with the basics. It’s also important to remember Pottery Studio Safety: A Guide to Health and Prevention, to make sure you are keeping safe during the process.
Shaping the Bowl
Now for the fun part: making the bowl! Start by wedging your clay to remove any air bubbles and create a uniform consistency. This is crucial for preventing cracks during firing. If you’re using a wheel, center the clay and slowly open it up, creating a bowl shape. If you’re hand-building, you can use slabs or coils to form the bowl. Aim for a consistent wall thickness – not too thick, or it will be heavy and take forever to dry; not too thin, or it will be fragile. Remember, practice makes perfect. Don’t be discouraged if your first few attempts aren’t exactly what you envisioned. The goal is to create a bowl that feels good in your hands and has a pleasing shape. Once you have a bowl shape you are happy with, you need to create the foot ring. After the bottom is trimmed, and a good foot ring is in place, determine the placement of your drainage holes. Explore some tips and tools for drilling for drainage in this helpful article. I use my MKM Decorating Disks to help place my holes exactly, line the rings on the disk over your foot ring to center it and use a needle tool to press indicator dots through the holes in the disk. Make a mark for a hole in the center, and then mark off the locations of five or seven evenly-spaced holes inside the foot ring.
Drainage and Decoration
Once your bowl is shaped and has dried to leather hard, it’s time to create the drainage holes. This is where those specialized tools come in handy. Birdie Boone shares how she uses a simple tool to make the holes in her berry bowls, placing templates premarked with the layout of the holes on top of the clay slabs and then quickly pokes through the templates with a needle tool to mark the slab. Read more about Birdie Boone’s method for making a berry bowl with clay slabs. You can also leave the bowl upside down on your wheel and mark out a pattern for the holes, using a pencil to create a grid of horizontal and vertical lines, then draw curved patterns within the grid. Consider what kind of fruits might be washed and drained in your bowl; cherries and strawberries can handle larger holes that blueberries might fall right through. If your bowl is still leather hard, you can go straight for the drill bit of your choice, but if your bowl has dried out to the stiffer end of leather hard, start with a smaller pilot hole and then increase the size. These pilot holes help “steer” the larger drill bit and help prevent cracking, remembering to use the power-drill technique during the leather-hard stage. After drilling out the center and first set of holes inside the foot ring, eye-ball another set of holes spaced in-between the first set, but this time on the outside of the foot ring. As an optional last step, you can replace the drill bit with a countersink bit and use it to bevel the edge of every hole inside and out, finally, simply sponge over the surface, inside and out, to soften the edges of the holes. When it comes to design, the possibilities are endless! You can carve patterns into the clay, add sprigs or textures, or even create cut-out designs. Remember to consider the functionality of your design.
Firing and Glazing
After the berry bowl is bone dry, it’s time for the first firing, also known as bisque firing. This hardens the clay and makes it ready for glazing. Once the bisque ware is cooled, you can then apply your chosen glaze. When selecting a glaze for your berry bowl, make sure it is food-safe and lead-free. Consider exploring stoneware berry bowls with reactive glazes for inspiration. Reactive glazes can create beautiful and unique effects. For example, here’s an example of a stoneware berry bowl with glaze. Cream and moss green are popular choices for berry bowls. You might also consider a cream and moss green berry bowl with plate. Ensure that the glaze is applied evenly and according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Finally, fire the glazed bowl to the appropriate temperature for the glaze and clay you are using. This firing vitrifies the clay and melts the glaze, creating a durable and waterproof surface. After the final firing, inspect your berry bowl for any cracks or imperfections. And that’s it! You’ve created your very own berry bowl. Enjoy washing and serving your favorite berries in your handmade creation!
