Woven Rim Paper Clay Bowl

Finally finished! Below is a photo taken as it came out of the kiln, filled with some of the beads I had fired to use on the rim.  

 Below is one more studio room ..... guess I really do take over the house. The bathroom makes the perfect weaving room as the reed is soaked in the bath-tub and the mirror is useful to help see how the rim is progressing.

 I had considered simply stitching around the rim and tying it off with a bead, but no that will be for another bowl.

 Finished .....

Why paper-clay?  Paper clay is much lighter than regular stoneware so it allows me to make large pieces with thick slabs or walls yet they are quite light. The paper clay I use is stoneware clay with the addition of paper pulp. Paper clay also has a strong dry strength so greenware is not as fragile as regular greenware as the paper fibers help hold the clay together. The one disadvantage I find is that the moist clay will mold quicker with the addition of paper in it. But that simply urges me to use that clay up and keep creating!

Rim Weaving

This rim is on a large bowl made with paper clay, finished with oxide, no glaze. 

 I used #20 copper wire for the spokes. With a little twisting they are attached to the pot and they are flexible, making the weaving, or mostly twining in this case, quite easy.

 Clothes pegs may be difficult to find but they are a great help when weaving. Extra hands of course would be even better!

 Decisions .... include some beads between the rows of weaving or twining? I tried a few to see how I liked it but decided to just keep on twining and add some beads at the top.

 Finished! I decided to pulled the wires quite tight on the single bead spokes and then relax the tension a little on the others to create a wave-like movement around the rim.

 Lots of tiny beads and washers!