Working with clay can be fun and exciting, but it can also get overwhelming at times. You can either opt to build your pieces by hand or throw them on a potter’s wheel. Whatever approach you are going to use, you’ll need some essential pottery tools. It’s worth noting that coming up with excellent pottery pieces does not depend on the tools you have at your disposal. What matters is having the necessary tools to make working with clay comfortable and elevate the final look.
Before jumping to buying all sorts of stuff, you need to understand the necessary tools first. For instance, if you want to create plaster stamps, you should know that you don’t need all the expensive tools. You only need the relevant ones. Likewise, in pottery, you don’t need to go purchasing everything you can get your hands on. Every potter should have an essential toolkit that makes their work a little bit easier. The following are some of the essential tools required in pottery;
Towels and apron
Pottery is not one of those jobs you can get out of as clean as you started. It gets messy, and an absorbent cotton towel would be a great idea. The essence is to protect your clothes from getting soaked in clay while a towel is useful in cleaning the hands while working with clay.
Chamois
When dealing with clay, you need something that can compress and make the edges of thrown ware smoother, and nothing does it better than a piece of chamois or leather. If you are making impression stamps for clay, all the more reason to observe small details. A chamois is excellent in smoothing, even leather-hard pieces.
Potter’s needles
If you are into pottery, you must have one of those wooden, metal, or plastic handles. They are quite versatile and are the best for trimming the top edges of many pieces. If you are hand-building clay stamps for pottery, you need perfection, and with the potter’s needles, your work becomes more comfortable.
Fettling knives
Have you thought of making texture stamps for clay and didn’t know where to start? A good starting point is equipping yourself with fettling knives that you can use to trim slabs or cut across different areas of hand-built pieces.
Loop, wire and ribbon tools
These tools come in handy and are a must-have for any potter. They are excellent for trimming greenware and useful in hand building. If you are making texture stamps for clay, this is one of the tools you’ll need in your arsenal.
Wooden modeling tools
If you are into pottery, you probably have realized there’s a wide range of wooden modeling tools. They are one of those collections that makes hand-building more comfortable. For instance, if you want to design texture stamps for polymer clay, you’ll need some wooden modeling tools. They are also excellent in trimming various pieces.
Sponges
You can’t do pottery without sponges. They are the best for absorbing and distributing water during throwing. When starting pottery, it would help to know the various types of sponges available in the market.
Brushes
Brushes in pottery play a crucial role and are used for many functions. Not only do they carry water, but they also help with painting and designing. If you are exploring some ceramic stamp ideas, you might want to have a few brushes. Ensure you make use of the best brushes for ceramics.
If you are looking for basic and advanced tools for pottery, you have to keep in mind; they are not just anything you pick up from the local art store or buy online. You have to understand the necessary tools that you can’t do without and buy those first. It’s useless to have all these pottery tools when you barely need them. As a potter, the above are some of the things you can’t do without.
