November 2026 "The Beauty of Ceramic Creation" By Kaiya Hilscher

Ceramics is an art form I’ve been exploring since Fall 2025, and it’s a hobby I really found an interest in. As someone who is more of a visual and kinesthetic learner, I find working with clay to be an especially enjoyable and relaxing experience. I love learning how different techniques, pressures, and motions affect the shape and structure of my work, and I’m glad I can experiment while observing how it changes and responds to my movements, rather than simply learning through written instructions or demonstrations.

Since last Fall, I have gotten to create a variety of different pieces through wheel-throwing such as mugs, cups, plates, bowls, vases, and plant pots. Each project has allowed me to experiment with different shapes, sizes, and techniques while gradually becoming more comfortable with the process of throwing clay. As a way to indulge in my passion, here’s a peek into how the process of wheel thrown ceramics goes.

You start by centering your clay in the middle of the wheel, guiding it into a balanced shape as it spins. Once centered, open the clay up by pressing into its middle to create a hollow space while leaving enough clay at the bottom for your base. Then, gradually pull the clay upward, using steady pressure to shape and thin its walls as the wheel spins. You can curve the walls outward to create a bowl or plate, or pull them upward to form a cup or vase. Once satisfied with the shape, carefully cut the piece from the wheel and let it dry until it becomes firm enough to trim and refine.

You can speed up the drying process with a torch! (Carefully & responsibly)

When the clay reaches a leather-hard stage (meaning it’s firm enough to handle without being completely bone-dry), the piece is placed upside down and secured onto the pottery wheel. Trimming tools are then used to carefully shave away excess clay allowing you to smooth the bottom and create a more defined shape. Lastly, add a finished “foot” or base to the piece to elevate it. This stops glaze from fuzing your work with the shelf it sits on inside the kiln, and helps make the bottom lay flat on a surface to help prevent wobbling.

During the trimming process, you have to be careful with how much you carve away at a piece. You can cause flaws by trimming too much, so It’s important to  not push past the limits. After your trimmed piece dries completely, it is fired in a kiln, glazed, and fired again to create its finished form.

For this bowl, I made the bottom too thin and it sadly split open.

Despite the patience, practice, and occasional mishaps that come with ceramics, it has become an art form I genuinely enjoy exploring. Not every piece turns out the way I envision it, and sometimes a valued finished project doesn’t last very long. However, even with mistakes, failed attempts and short lived favorites, each experience teaches me something new about working with clay and helps me become more comfortable with the process. It is incredibly gratifying to see an idea take shape through your own hands, and make it into something you can keep and use for years to come.

 Someone put it on a table edge.