Making a Drape Bowl

 Here's another drape bowl I made the other day which is drying.

Today I made another drape molded bowl but this time I made cut outs for handles on either end. After I apply the underglazes and texture the slab I cut it to the shape I want. Next I place the slab of clay on an upside down mold. In this case I am using an oblong wooden bowl I got at a thrift store. I rub the underside of the bowl with vegetable spray which I spray on a paper towel. This allows the bowl to contract easily while firming up and keeps the clay bowl from sticking to the wooden bowl mold.

After I place the slightly firm, but still pliable, slab of clay on the mold I ease the sides down over the mold with a dry sponge. This keeps any telltale finger prints from showing in the clay. Once I get the bowl shaped the way I want it, I cut out the holes for the handles. If I was adding a pedestal, now is the time I would attach it to the bottom which is facing up. For this and previous bowl I didn't add a pedestal, perhaps next time.

I have the bowl propped up with a block of wood since the sides droop down a little past the wooden bowl mold. I let the clay bowl firm up for about a day. Next I turn the clay bowl over onto a sheetrock ware board. It's a real trick to flip the bowl over onto the sheetrock. I place the sheetrock ware board on the bottom of the bowl and then I lift the wooden bowl up and flip the two bowls over onto the sheetrock in one quick motion. Then I gently remove the wooden bowl from inside the clay bowl.

Here's what the bowl looks like while it's drying on the shelf. It dries for at least a week till it's bone dry before it's ready to bisque fire. Then the bowl gets fired the first time. Next I wash the bowl thoroughly and I apply glaze to the bowl and it's fired again. There's a lot of steps to making a free form drape molded bowl or for any handmade item. Seeing the results and having someone appreciate my pottery makes the work all worth while.

UPDATE:  here is the bowl with handles just turned over this morning:

Another full week ahead, today is pottery class for students and we'll be glazing, tomorrow I work at the gallery, Thursday and Friday is Trash to Treasures sale and Saturday is the Farmer's Market sale. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.