Activity

Introduction to Ceramic sculpture

Becky Richards

During the first Level 4 lockdown in 2020, we invited Auckland-based maker and tutor Becky Richards to create a series of instructional, creative hand-building videos using clay. We brought these back in 2021 and encourage everyone with access to clay to try this out.

Hand-building with clay can be easily done at home without any special equipment. Each video shows you a different part of making a large, experimental tree shape. The videos can be viewed alone according to your interest, otherwise view all three to learn how to make Becky’s final form.

Check out Becky Richards’ Instagram for more examples of sculptures you could make by hand-building.

The videos

Part one

In her first video, Becky shows you the basics of hand building with clay, and how to make a base for your sculpture, using the pinch-pot technique.

Part two

In her second video, Becky explains how to effectively join two different clay forms together, and continues building her large tree-like sculpture.

Part three

In her third video, Becky discusses mark-making and texturizing your form, as well as giving tips on knowing when to stop.