Coil pots brief history and how to make a coil pot

Pottery is one of the most enduring materials known to humankind. In most places it is the oldest and most widespread art; primitive peoples the world over have fashioned pots and bowls of baked clay for their daily use. Prehistoric remains of pottery, e.g., in Scandinavia, England, France, Italy, Greece, and North and South America, have proved of great importance in archaeology and have often a way of dating and establishing an early timeline. Pottery has also been used as historical and literary records, ancient Assyrian and Babylonian writings have been inscribed upon clay tablets. Simple geometric patterns in monochrome, polychrome, or incised work are common to pottery of prehistoric and primitive cultures. One type of pottery is a coil pot. A coil pot is a type of pot make by rolling out clay coils and stacking them on top of each other to make a pot vase or even a box or abstract sculpture.

To create a coil pot flatten a base by taking a clump of clay and smoothing it with a rolling pin flatting the clay until it is about half of an inch thick. Next cut out a circle that is the size you want the base of your project to be you can use a cup to get a perfect circle. After your base is finished you will start to create you coils, to do this take a ball of clay and roll it on a table until the coil is half of an inch thick then rough the edge of your base by making scratches with a knife or hook the do the same thing to the bottom of the coil then add slip to the coil and base and mold your first coil onto the base. Then add your second, third, so on by repeating the same processes. Once your project has reached it's desired height it's time to shape the walls by smoothing the coil with a sponge or your fingers once it is smooth you can leave it as it is on create a pattern. After you are pleased with the design it will be fired then it is ready for glazing

Coils can also be used as 3-D designs on the outside of pots or as handles or as