Hand Building

I love hand building. It has to be the most basic and most ancient way to work with clay. It’s satisfying and instinctual and it can be done by anyone, anywhere. Pick up a lump of sticky mud and form it into a bowl or figure and it transforms into a way to hold water or remember your ancestors.

While it is ancient, but it’s not simple or necessarily easy. There are plenty of techniques used in hand building that have to be mastered in order to achieve the effect you want.

One of the things I like about hand building is the speed of the process–it is slow. That very slowness is a kind of freedom because it allows time for change. When I’m working on a project, my idea changes and the slow speed of hand building lets the work evolve along with the ideas. I might observe the way a form is developing asymmetrically or leaning a little to one side and choose to enhance that difference.

There is also the ability to change clay bodies within a piece and this allows me to experiment more. I frequently add different materials to my clay that will burn out in the firing leaving shapes and patterns behind. I also love the marks that develop in the making process–finger prints, scratches, irregularities–direct evidence and connection to the maker.

Hand building is my first love in clay, and still my favorite! I feel curiosity, freedom and connection with this technique.