Make a clay garden planter with lace decoration

Recently, I made a clay garden planter using hand-building techniques. It was a great Free drop-in session; it took me about an hour to make two small planters. Over the last few years, I’ve made a few clay pieces, have glazed raku pots and glazed jugs and vases. I enjoy creating 🙂

‘Create. Not for the money. Not for the fame. Not for the recognition. But for the pure joy of creating something and sharing it’. – Ernest Barbaric – a marketing man.

How it all started

About four years ago, I went to a pottery painting cafe; I painted a vase and jug using glass paint and a clear glaze. They often have flowers from our garden. I had a fab time. It was very relaxing once I decided on my patterns. It was sociable as I went with my cottonopolisWI buddies. I thought I must go back another time and do some more. Then life got in the way.

Then last year, I had a bit more time, I started visiting CreateBolton. I did a couple of courses -glazing raku and make a garden ornament.

Unfortunately, I can’t use a pottery wheel, as the water doesn’t help my arthritis finger pain; and it takes a fair amount of strength to throw the pot.

I’m trying quite a few different ways of making ceramics, so I’ll report back.

• First and latest fuchsias in painted pottery – In a Vase on Monday

Little did I realise painting this jug would lead to… ceramics, and making silver clay jewellery. Making ceramics has also helped me find my creativity in my 40s – I wrote about it earlier in 2019. I’m a great believer in trying a new skill, who knows – you might discover what you love. That’s what happened with silver clay – I’m hooked on it.

• Never too late to be creative – flowers, silver clay jewellery, beads, pottery
• How to make a silver clay pendant using a texture – for Beginners

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Time

• about an hour
• I made two planters and My Chap made two as well

What you need to make a clay garden planter

• A melon sized lump of clay (not a water melon size 😉)
• Rolling pin
• Two pieces of wood – about 2cm thick
• Newspaper
• A board
• Template made from paper –
  • use this to practise rolling your planter first
  • get an idea of what part of the lace pattern will appear on the
• A piece of thick cotton lace (you can find these in charity shops or offcuts in haberdashery stores)
• Some clay slip (i.e. watered down clay) – this is the glue to sick the clay together
• A sharp knife
• Spatula
• Damp cloth
• A knitting needle or other round implement – use this to make the hole to hang the planter

Clay type and size

• The clay I used was stoneware – it is fired once, glazed and then re-fired. I’ll ask about the firing temperatures.
• the planter will be waterproof and cope with the cold. I’ll be bringing the planters inside when it’s frosty though.
• The planter is about 20cm in length and about 9cm wide.

Method – Clay Garden Planter

1. Roll out the clay

• Put newspaper onto your board
• Roll out the clay to an even thickness
• Use a rolling pin to get an even round or oblong shape
• Keep turning the clay so it is an even thickness – use two pieces of wood and run the rolling pin along the top of the wood.

2. Decoration

• lay the lace onto the clay – press into the clay firmly
• if the lace has a distinct pattern – make sure a nice part will show on the front of the (use the paper template to work out where is best).
• peel the lace carefully away from the clay
• Be careful not to stretch the clay – it is very heavy

3. Make a cone shape

• Carefully wrap the clay into a cone shape
• Make sure there’s a small drainage hole at the bottom.
• There will be excess clay – so mark small notches to know where to cut off the extra.
• Unroll and cut the excess off including making small decorations for the planter (e.g. hearts)

4.Sticking overlap together

• Use the knife to make little crisscross slash lines along the underneath of the clay overlap
• Make little slash lines along the other part of the clay
• Use a spatula to put plenty of slip on the slash marks and push the clay carefully together – the slip is the ‘glue’
• Wipe away any extra slip that escapes.

5. Additional decoration

• used metal cutters to add hearts – and pressed onto the edge of the clay overlap.
• Make small slash marks on both planter and the heart – use slip as glue (as above)

6. Tidying the clay

• Wipe all the edges of the clay to make sure there are smooth edges
• Smooth over or press together cracks – as this will help prevent the piece shattering in the kiln

Note:

• any pattern or blemish on the clay will appear exactly the same when the piece is fired so be carefully wipe the edges and smooth blemishes.
• damp clay is heavy and will stretch so handle it carefully
• if you need to re-roll the clay – place the clay in layers – and try not to get any air pockets as this will make the clay explode in the kiln.

Next steps – clay garden planter

Dry for at least a week.

As the clay dries, it changes to a white/grey colour. It needs to be totally dry otherwise it will explode in the kiln.

Fire in the kiln and decorate

• This is the first ‘bisque’ firing
• I’ll let you know the temperature and time in the kiln – this depends on the type of clay and whether you need the final pottery piece to be frost safe/use outdoors/waterproof.

Come back next time to see how I glazed the planters – and how they turned out

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My teacher – Jackie Noy from Hilton Farm Ceramics

Massive thanks to Jackie for teaching us how to make this planter. My Chap took to it like a duck to water, as usual. It was very relaxing and easy craft to do. Jackie is a fabulous teacher – she also makes wonderful ceramic pieces including pots of all sizes, small houses, wall plates, lighthouses – using many hand-building techniques.

I’ve made two hand-built daisy flowers as garden decorations with Jackie last year – My Chap is making a frame for these at the moment.

• Making a Pottery Daisy – Miniature Roses In a Vase on Monday

We also had fun on a raku course – literally playing with fire 😉

Jackie has a new website in progress and is planning on running more courses – she’s based just outside Bolton, Lancashire.

Follow Jackie on Instagram @hiltonfarmceramics

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Stoneware and porcelain, white tea light cottages, with black glazed roof and textured hearts. £25 each or 3 for £65 ♥️ #ceramics #pottery #ceramichouses #ceramiccottages #ceramicartists #art #giftideas #handmadepottery @ceramicsart #modernceramics #clay #handmade #homedecor #tealight

A post shared by Hilton Farm Ceramics (@hiltonfarmceramics) on Jun 2, 2019 at 10:23am PDT

Create Bolton – pottery studio

I made my garden planter at a ‘drop in’ session at CreateBolton. I’ve been going to CreateBolton fundraising events for about five years; last year

Many thanks to this fabulous charity which uses the creative arts to help people in Bolton from all backgrounds. If you are local, do visit them.

Joy who leads the creative projects is a wonderful lady, a great teacher and helps everyone to find their inner creativity whether it’s through making pottery, painting and other creative activities.

• www.createbolton.com
• Follow them on facebook – CreateBolton

I am very grateful that I met these wonderful people 🙂 they’d helped me be so much more creative… and find more inner peace.

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I find making pottery, very restful and relaxing – it helps to be delicate, placing things carefully. Also planning what I will do first, using paper cut-outs, drawing my designs and thinking through all the processes to make something. Concentrating on what I am doing helps keep me be ‘in the moment’.

‘Shape clay into a vessel; It is the space within that makes it useful. Cut doors and windows for a room; It is the holes which make it useful. Therefore, benefit comes from what is there; Usefulness from what is not there’. Laozi

This quote reminds me of mindfulness, being in the present – and helps me focus.

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If you’d like to have a go at making pottery or ceramics, have a look for a local pottery studio or ceramic artist – they often run drop-in sessions for a low cost or free.

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Have you tried making pottery? Let me know in the comments. If you have made something from clay let me know?

Carpe Diem,

love Bec xx

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