Sparano Arts

Last week I went over how to make plates quickly and easily. This week we’ll extend that technique to the classic shape of the chip n’ dip.

First off, it should be noted that this chip n’ dip (like almost everything else in pottery) creates different products depending on the size of the pieces. So at the average plate size its a chip n’ dip, at a smaller size it can be a candle holder. So don’t be afraid to play around with scale and see what designs/products you can create.

For this shape, I don’t need anything fancy. I recommend your standard tools that come in almost any kit.

If you want to get fancy you can throw in a mudtools sponge and red rib as well as a chamois cloth, but that’s more about your tool preference than a necessity in this case.

To begin you want to center you piece almost as you would for a plate, but you don’t need to go quite as flat. Remember you will need a bowl section for your preferred dip, personally I like guacamole or onion dip. So you want a centered piece of clay similar to if you were making a wide, shallow bowl.

Once centered this is where things change a little. You will want to define the outer plate portion first. To do this you won’t open the clay as I’ve instructed in the past. Instead you want to place your finger roughly an inch into the piece from the outer edge and press downward. You want to go to your average depth (about 1 knuckle deep). From there you want to pull the rim out like you would a plate. You can go back to last weeks post on plates if you need a refresher.

Once that’s done, essentially you throw either a cylinder or a bowl. Its a bit of your choice. Personally, I threw more of a cylinder in the video above. I didn’t want to intrude on the plate portion and limit the size of the chips that could be served.

(Always make prototypes and test them out in daily use. It will help you refine your designs and make better products.)

The trick will be that you don’t apply to much pressure at the base of the cylinder, because the base is clay. Applying to much down pressure will cut off the plate portion.

Now the other reason you will want to throw chip n’ dips aside from being a good product in your repertoire, is that they are the stepping stone to throwing donuts and double wall vessels. So working on them and mastering them is a good thing to do.

Speaking of double walled vessels, next week will be a continuation of this topic into double walls. Hope to see you then.

Till then, get into the studio and make something.

Questions on the technique, email me at sparanoarts@gmail.com, like what I’m doing feel free to shop my Etsy store