Using Marbled Clay to Create Pinch Bowls!

This video is a quick review of the technique of pinching but with the twist of using two clay bodies to create a marbled form. I made this video for my students at Mason High School. They are building on existing knowledge, and are learning about marbling two compatible clays. Students begin with a ball for this project, insert a thumb, and pinch between the thumb and fingers of the same hand. I emphasize to them that they should be doing the pinching while holding it in their hand as opposed to setting it on the table and pinching. The reason to avoid setting it on the table is that the pinch forms tend to flatten on the bottom and go really wide- more wide than they want them. I emphasize that they need to watch the thickness of the walls and the base- and they have to keep them the same thickness… to avoid a thick bottom which could potentially explode! I show them how they can use a little rib for some quick preliminary clean up if they have time on the first day. I am using a hunk of clay about the size of my fist, but you can use any size you desire. It fluctuates among each person as to how big they want to make theirs! The key is that you are still able to pinch your index and middle fingers to the thumb in the middle. If you can't reach all the way to the middle, you can push with your fingers against the table as I do a few times. Honestly, many of my students have a very difficult time when I give them measurements in inches or centimeters. They just can't visualize it and things go terribly wrong... that's when I started calling it as "thick as a pinky"= TRANSLATE that to 3/8" and then thin it beyond that thickness! The clays in the video are Laguna Bmix (⅚) and PSH 540i For the great tools I used in the video (including the mudtools ribs and needle tools) check out this link to a live Googledoc I continually update with lots of my favorite tools on Amazon using my associate links! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XbYPQjjJnHrQG5xyWGMHZkEcZj5N8VnUAbFZdJRrRmU/edit?usp=sharing I am a RETIRED public high school ceramics teacher at William Mason High School in Mason, Ohio. (I taught at Mason High school, which was at the time the largest high school in Ohio!) As a potter, I have been working in clay for over 39 years, and I taught for over 34 years, the last 28 were specifically teaching high school ceramics. I feel so blessed to have ended my full time teaching career June 1, 2025, and can now focus on traveling and presenting workshops, and working on my own pottery. I have my own studio in my home basement, where I work on my personal pottery for my Etsy site; https://www.etsy.com/shop/KaransPotsAndGlass I started my Youtube channel to make videos to help my students if they are absent and miss a demo, or if they would like to explore more advanced techniques independently. I have been amazed to reach such a wider audience than my own students! Please subscribe to my channel if you would like to receive channel updates, or would like to learn more about clay and studio processes! Here is a link to the safety and tips of working with materials from home sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BBT7Q8qVBwQIBDNVGI1w4DQ-a0PBAzNr3lp09RMXU-I/edit?usp=sharing