People often ask "What's a 'pinch pot'"?

 

The name comes from the process used to make them. If you ever took a clay class, the chances are good you started by making a pinch pot.

 

The clay is shaped into a ball, and the pot is formed by "pinching" the clay into shape after making a hole in the center. No wheel is used.

Quite often, they are the size of your hand, but over the last few years, I've tested out the size limits of pinching a pot . . . and the largest one I created started with more than six pounds of clay.

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I find the pinch process to be relaxing, and I think the results can be surprising.