Back in primary school, pottery making was one of my favourite hobbies! I was part of a weekly pottery club where I built up my pottery and sculpting skills. Unfortunately, since then I have not touched clay and a lot of my sculpting skills have gone out the window… So, when I came across this pottery kit from Sculpt, I knew it was time for me to take a trip down memory lane.
The kit arrived very quickly after it was ordered, which was great! The box itself was made from a recyclable cardboard and came with everything I needed to make my pot. This included 2 bags of air-drying clay, a sponge, white paint, sealant solution, sculpting tools, and of course the instruction guide!
To avoid ruining my table, I covered my workspace with some pieces of scrap paper before making a start on my pottery. The instructions had two pottery options for me to make, a pinch pot or a plant pot. I opted for the plant pot as this now gives me an excuse to buy another succulent for my room.
I started by tearing off a handful of clay, and used a rolling pin to roll it out to roughly the thickness of my index finger. Next, using a large mug as my guide, I cut out the base of the pot with the wooden knife tool.
I rolled the rest of the clay in the bag out into a large rectangular shape. Using a ruler, I then cut off the edges to make a perfect rectangular shape.
To my delight, some of my pottery knowledge came in handy with this next step. I had to score the edges of the pot base in order to ensure the two pieces of clay stick to each other when dry. Without doing this, it is likely that the pot would fall apart.
I had a few scraps of clay left over, so I rolled these into a thin sausage shape and made a heart to stick on the front of my pot as a bit of decoration. I didn’t want to let any clay go to waste!
After leaving the pot to dry for half an hour, I smoothed over all the edges using my finger. Next, I dampened the sponge and used this to smooth over the cracks to create a flawless finish.
I then left the pot to dry for 48 hours, until the clay was bone dry and had lightened in colour. Using the white waterproof paint, I painted two layers onto my pot to ensure there we no gaps. The fact that the paint is waterproof makes a lot of sense, as this will make sure the pot doesn’t go mouldy!
If I wanted to, at this stage I could have decorated my pot with some colourful acrylic paint. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any acrylic paint, so I stuck with the minimalist all white design.
Finally, I finished the pot using the sealant. This gave it a nice shiny finish. I still have another whole bag of clay left over, so I will be attempting to make the pinch pot as well to further improve my pottery skills!
The instructions for this experience were very straightforward, and had a lot of helpful tips along the way to help improve your sculpting technique. There is also a link to a video you can watch if you wanted a more visual set of instructions. This would be great if you were taking part with younger kids.
I can’t wait to buy a little succulent plant to complete my flowerpot! I must say my pottery skills are not as good as they used to be, but practice makes perfect!
