The Home Studio Vol. 2 Tools Of The Pottery Trade
A collection of pottery tools. Image credit: Emily Brookfield
In this article I’ll take you through the different types of tools I use in my studio and their purpose. This is a great resource for beginning your collection or building on your existing tools.
I’ve asked a handful of local creatives to share their favourite tools as well!
A quick note before we get into it
If you are thinking about setting up your own home studio and not sure where to start, I recommend checking out Volume 1 of this series where I discuss the essentials including equipment and safety. You can read the article here.
Now, this ended up being a larger list than I thought so I will do another blog post with even more tools! Having said that, this is by no means a comprehensive list. There are endless options when it comes to tools and what you prefer to use in your practice. There are also so many other potters and ceramic artists who have written about the tools that they prefer and why. This is just what I use in my studio and have found useful for my students so use this article as a guide and get creative!
Also when I say tools, I mean anything that can be used to help you create your masterpiece. Your tools don’t have to cost the earth and you can use objects from around your home. So I don’t want you feeling as if you can’t start your collection without getting the latest and most expensive tools on the market. Some of the best and most durable pottery tools can be found around your home, or an Op shop! They can also be the most inexpensive tools in your tool box and by tool box I mean an old 2ltr ice cream container. Remember, it doesn’t have to be fancy!
The majority of the tools I mention can be found in your local pottery supply store or online. Try Walker Ceramics or Northcote Pottery Supplies if you’re in Victoria. Otherwise you can substitute with objects from around your home as I’ve previously mentioned.
Okay, let’s talk tools!
The image below shows some of the tools I use the most in my studio. Working from left to right:
A selection of pottery tools Emily uses in her ceramics practice. Photo credit: Emily Brookfield
WIRE TOOL - great for cutting clay from the block and taking your work off the wheel. I have two that are different lengths for different uses from Mudtools but an inexpensive option and one I prefer sometimes is to use fishing wire between 20-30cm long with a peg tied to each end.
SPONGE – An allrounder in the studio, it’s used for throwing, smoothing surfaces, cleaning up pieces and your workspace, removing dust and debris before you glaze, wiping back freshly glazed work, propping up and supporting attachments like handles. The list goes on.
SPOON – I have a habit of raiding my kitchen drawers for spoons and forgetting I’ve already taken one. Oops! I use spoons for measuring out raw materials when making glaze tests, mixing small amounts of slip for joinery, smoothing and burnishing a pots surface and even creating texture and pattern. Forks are great too! Raid your kitchen drawers!
WOODEN HAND BUILDING TOOL - So many shapes available for different uses and they often have different shapes at each end. Great for getting into places your hands and fingers just can’t reach, joining, smoothing and creating texture to your work.
CARVING TOOL – There are an array of different carving tools that create different textures and finishes on the surface of your pot. I use the arrow end to cut shapes out of my pots. Get creative with these. You can get specialty carving tools from Diamond Core Tools, or raid your home for things that can create unique textures that are more cost effective. Op shops are also treasure troves for interesting objects that can be used as carving tools in your studio.
CALLIPERS – Used when creating multiples of the same piece that need to be the same width or if you’re making a lidded vessel in two parts. Use a ruler to set the diameter.
SERRATED METAL KIDNEY – This is one of my favourite tools. It’s an absolute time saver when scoring a surface to join parts together. Also fantastic for creating texture to the surface of your pot.
MAKERS MARK – Again, so many options. Having a custom stamp made can become a pricy endeavour and isn’t essential if you’re more of a hobby potter but if you’re wanting to sell it’s a good idea to use one so that your work can be identified. When I first started pottery I would scratch it on by hand using a skewer, old pen or needle tool. I’ve also seen handmade makers marks made from plaster and even polymer clay. I get mine from 4clay.com
NEEDLE TOOL – Primarily used to check the depth of the base of your pot when throwing on the wheel. It can also be used to make holes, scoring, cutting and creating texture.
ARROW HEAD TOOL – I use this just before I take my pot off the wheel to tidy up the base of my pot which means less time trimming at the leather hard stage.
PEN (and paper) – used to write down measurements including amounts of clay, glaze recipes, ideas, to-do lists. Pens are an essential part of my practice.
TRIMMING TOOL – Used for trimming your pots but can be used for carving and surface treatment as well. I used the straight side for trimming foot rings and the rounded side for curved edges.
PLASTIC STRIP – Used to smooth off the lip of your pot to create a refined finished rim. You can use a strip of a shammy cloth but I am prone to loosing these in my water bucket so I prefer to just cut a strip off my bag of clay.
DO ALL TRIMMING TOOL – This one is by Mudtools. The entire tool can be used for trimming including the “handle” or middle part. Mine is very well used.
WOODEN KIDNEY TOOL – I use this a lot as you can tell by the shape. The rounded side used to be way rounder. I use this for smoothing surfaces and shaping pots on the wheel. If you’re looking for something special, you can find some beautifully made wooden tools from Garrity Tools.
KIRI ITO (cutting string) – This tool was gifted to me by my first pottery teacher. I use it when I am throwing off the hump in which you throw multiple smaller vessels off a large mound of clay. It’s used in replacement of a wire tool. Cut a space under your pot for the string to fit and use the wheel to wrap the string around the base of the pot to release it from the rest of the mound.
METAL KIDNEY – As you can see, I’ve used this a lot for smoothing and burnishing my pots surfaces at the leather hard stage. So much so that I’ve accidentally sharpened it in the process. It’s also great for cutting clay.
WOODEN HAND BUILDING TOOL – Two different width sides for making and smoothing holes and creating texture.
PAINT BRUSH – I use this particular brush for applying slip when joining components and to smooth and clean up surfaces. I have so many different brushes. One for applying wax resist and an array of different sizes for applying underglaze, oxides and some glazes.
Now that I’ve broken down some of my pottery tool collection, I want to share what others use and love.
I reached out to a handful of talented creatives from the pottery community to see what their favourite tool is and why. Here’s what they had to say!
Tool: Brush
“This brush is my fave old tool because I’ve used it for years. I use it to get into areas my fingers can’t get to. I mostly use it to slap on some slip to attach handles and smooth clay over.”
Tool: Banding Wheel
“The tool I find invaluable is the banding wheel. I use it for handling mugs, glazing and hand-building. It’s so useful and I really couldn’t do without it. Even though I make most things on the pottery wheel, there are a million other uses for it. Something like this really makes life a little easier in the studio.”
Tool: Wooden Kidney
“The tool that I would probably have the most emotional attachment to is my wooden kidney. This was my first tool I ever bought myself when I decided to become a full-time potter so it holds a special ‘stepping out’ place in my heart. It also gives me the most perfect curve on the inside of my bowls and without it I’d be totally lost!”
Tool: Ellisa’s go-to collection
“When Emily asked me what my favourite tool was, I was completely thrown (pun not intended). On a weekly basis I rely solely on so many tools but these are just the ones I cannot live without (see above).”
Tool: Arrowhead
“The simplest tools are by far my favourite and undoubtedly the most underrated. I use the arrowhead tool to trim excess clay from my freshly thrown pieces. I do this so that they require very little trimming at the leather hard stage. I also use it to shape wet pieces on the wheel and to trim at the leather hard stage if needed. One tool with so many uses.”
Tool: Mudtools sponges
Tool: Mirror
“Having a mirror in front of my wheel while I'm throwing, or trimming has been revolutionary - and was a tip I picked up from Florian Gadsby's Instagram. It makes such a huge difference being able to see the full profile of pieces while working on them and it saves so much neck and back strain while sitting at the wheel.”
Tool: The Mudtools do all trimming tool and the Seven Skills rubber kidney
“The do all trimming tool is very well-loved after many years of use; the square edge helps trim the perfect crisp foot ring and the curved edge makes trimming bowls and cups a breeze. I love my Seven Skills rubber kidney tool because it helps me perfectly shape and refine my pieces when I'm throwing. It makes the surface of freshly trimmed pieces super smooth. I really miss it when it happens to accidentally make its way into my clay reclaim!”
Tool: Trusty Round Yellow Sponge
“Is there anything this humble sponge can't do? I use this little guy at every step of my making process - when I throw on the potter's wheel, smoothing out my greenware, removing dust on my bisqueware, applying dabs of oxides, wiping off glaze drips, and cleaning everything in my studio. Our souls were meant to be together and I can't live without it.”
Writing this post got me wondering what your favourite tools are. Last week I asked you guys what tool in your collection you can’t live without over on Instagram stories and you really came through. Thank you!
If you’d like to share your favourite tools tag me @emily_brookfield in your instagram posts and stories and I’ll share with everyone!