The Newsletter of the Orchard Valley Ceramic Arts Guild
Techniques Edition
Excerpted fromVolume 10 Issue 4 Fall 2010
The Belle of the (Beach)Ball–Phyllis Lee
Starting your pot
Phyllis inverted the beach ball
and set it in the container so that it
was upside down with the valve on
the bottom. She then set the container on a banding wheel to make
it easier to work her way around
her pot. She cut a circle of clay,
about a half-inch thick and appro-
P
Creating a Hand Built
Pot on a Beach Ball
hyllis Lee demonstrated her
fascinating process of creating a textured, hand built
pot using a beach ball as the supporting structure.
Some of the supplies she
brought along were a 16-inch
beach ball, a wooden paddle, several rectangular slabs (about 3” by
14”) of clay, her “treasure box” of
objects for stamping designs into
the clay, as well as a container of
dried clay bits and a large chunk of
driftwood for creating some wonderful textures on the slabs before
they are applied to the beach ball.
Phyllis initially commented that
you must allow sufficient time to
make your beach ball pot. She typically allows a full day for a 16” pot.
It can be difficult to keep the ball
fully expanded over any length of
time, and you need to be present to
let the air out as the pot dries.
The following write up incorporates detailed notes that Phyllis provided to me. Thank you. Phyllis!
Starting your project
Keeping the ball steady and
secure while you’re working on it
is the single most important thing
that will ensure the success of your
piece. Phyllis used a fairly low
and wide plastic bowl that exceeded the diameter of the beach ball.
Line your container (bottom and
rim) with 2-3 inches of foam.
Remember that as you add clay to
the ball, it will get heavier and sink
further into the container, so make
sure its rim won’t cut into your pot.
Phyllis mentioned the House of
Foam in PaloAlto (swww.houseof
foam.net)asagoodsourceforscrap
foam. As an alternative, soft rags
can be used instead.
Blowing up the beach ball
You can work with any size of
beach ball. Phyllis used a 16-inchdiameter ball for this demonstration, but she has used one as large
as 24 inches.
To enlarge the air hole of the
beach ball and make blowing it up
much easier, Phyllis has developed a technique of heating up a
small nail (her heat source is the
flame on her gas stove) till it’s very
hot, then inserting it into the opening, being very careful to avoid
touching the skin of the ball. Blow
up the beach ball until it’s as hard
as possible; a soft, squishy beach
ball is difficult to work with. For
easier removal of the beach ball
from inside your pot after it has
dried, tie a length of string
(approx. 18”) to the valve, then
wind this string around the valve.
priate to the size of the pot, then
centered it on the beach ball.
Adding the clay strips
For weight reduction purposes
and to avoid lumpiness, Phyllis
uses a fettling knife to bevel the
clay strip on the ball at about a 30degree angle before applying the
next piece. This can be optional,
“whack” the clay! This compresses the clay and makes it stronger.
Linda Mau added that slipping a
nylon stocking over a non-textured wooden paddle will help
keep it from sticking to the clay.
Phyllis then proceeded to add
more clay to encircle the beach
ball. She show us how she applies
textured and irregular shapes of
clay. She used a roller to press several handfuls of dried clay bits into
one strip to add texture. She
pressed another length of clay onto
the driftwood (spraying the wood
first with WD-40 to prevent sticking), then tore off strips and applied
to build up the design of the pot.
She mentioned that many interesting textures can be obtained by
using stamps, leaves, fabrics such
as burlap or lace, sea shells, etc.
Press or paddle them onto the surface of the pot as you go along.
Other suggestions included carved
or painted designs.
Phyllis cautioned that you must
add the clay evenly around the
ball. If one side gets too heavy, the
ball is in danger of suddenly flipping over. Also, keep the working
edge of your clay wet at all times as
you continue to add clay. Wet rags
or Saran Wrap is good for this.
Hardening the bottom (first) half
though, depending on the design.
Once Phyllis had beveled the
edge of the initial circle of clay, she
attached a new length of clay, scoring both surfaces to ensure adhesion. She then paddled the
“seams” well with a wooden paddle. Don’t be afraid to really
Phylliscreatedroughlyhalfofthe
pot in her demonstration. The next
step would be to set it aside and let it
dry until it reaches a stage just a little
short of “leather hard.”You can hastenthisprocessbysettingitinthesun
or using a fan, but DO NOT use a
heat gun! It will melt the beach ball.
Turning the pot over
Now you’re ready to begin
working on the second (top) half of
your pot. Turn your pot over in the
container so that the completed
section is on the bottom and the
valve is now on top.
Proceed as before by cutting a
circle of clay and centering it on
Illustrations by Anne Lewis
By ANNE LEWIS
Photograph Courtesy Phyllis Lee
An example of one of Phyllis Lee’s finished beach ball pots.
the ball. This time, cut out a small
round hole for the valve to poke
through. Phyllis usually makes the
top circle about 1/8-inch thicker to
ensure the mouth of the pot has
enough clay. Continue to add clay
in the style you have chosen until
you “connect” to the finished half
and the ball is covered.
Forming the base
Now that you have your beach
ball covered and textured as
desired, you’re ready to flatten the
bottom. Lift the pot from the container and carefully set it upright on
a hard, level surface. Often the
weight of the pot will cause it to settle enough to form a satisfactorily
flat base. Otherwise, while holding
it evenly centered (use the opening
as a reference point), gently exert
enough pressure to form a flat base.
Drying
Now is the time when you’ll
need to carefully monitor your pot.
Be sure to keep a wet rag over the
opening of the pot where you will
be forming the pot’s mouth. As
soon as the clay has set enough that
the pot appears able to keep its
shape, start letting air out of the
beach ball. In good weather, drying can happen rather quickly.
Continue to let the air out as it dries
until you have sufficient space
inside the opening to insert two
fingers. Now you can begin working on the mouth of the pot.
Mouth of the pot
Phyllis finds this step the hardest part, so she usually keeps it
pretty simple. This involves not
much more than putting her fingers inside the opening and gently
raising the edge while turning the
pot on the banding wheel. This is
where the extra thickness of clay
comes in handy.
Make sure the opening is large
enough to allow removal of the
beach ball! Phyllis recommends at
leasta2-inchopening;herpotsoften
have openings of 4 inches. Because
of the possible toxicity of burning
plastic, most studios will not want to
fire a pot with the ball inside.
After your pot is finished, set it
asidetodry.Bynowitshouldbehard
enough that you can leave the valve
open. Phyllis allows the pot to dry to
the bone dry stage before removing
thebeachball. Thispreventsscuffing
up the mouth of the pot.
Anne Lewis can be contacted at
www.purpledoorpottery.com. To
see more of Phyllis Lee’s beach
ball pottery visit the member
section of the OVCAG website.
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©2010, OVCAG, Anne Lewis and Phyllis Lee . No part
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