technical tuesday: How to Make a Conical Pattern or Template for Slab Forming in Clay

This video quickly shows how I create templates with my students for conical forms. I first create a large “chart” or master drawing of concentric circles in lots of different sizes. Then, I uses some radial lines to subdivide the circles into arches. After the drawing is ready, I take something see through like tracing paper, or acetate, and trace over an arch ending the ends at the radial lines. Once it is cut out, you can see what the conical form looks like. It may take a bit of experimentation to get just the right curve, height, and length… but once you have played around with it, you will find this a great tool to make any of your own templates for a great variety of forms! The material I use is mylar, and I purchase it from Amazon by the foot. I buy the 24″ size, but it comes in various widths. I love it for patterns for my students, as we can wash them when they are dirty, but they are sturdy enough they will hold up for years! Here is a link to what I purchase, although I realize it may be a US link, I don’t know how that works! 😉 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00… Sandi Pierantozzi, the wonderful potter from Philly, (married to equally awesome potter Neil Patterson) has a website where she sells templates commercially- here is her site if you would like to purchase hers premade! https://circlematic.com/ I am a public high school ceramics teacher at William Mason High School in Mason, Ohio. (Mason is currently the largest high school in Ohio!) As a potter, I have been working in clay for over 30 years, and I have been teaching for over 28 years, the past 20 have been specifically teaching high school ceramics. I love what I do! I have my own studio in my home basement, where I work on my personal pottery for my Etsy site; https://www.etsy.com/shop/KaransPotsA… I started my Youtube channel a few years ago, to make videos to help my students if they are absent and miss a demo, or if they would like to explore more advanced techniques independently. I have been amazed to reach such a wider audience than my own students! For a list of my FAVORITE TOOLS, check out this link to a Googledoc with lots of my favorites on Amazon using my associate links! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X… Please subscribe to my channel if you would like to receive channel updates, or would like to learn more about clay and studio processes! Please stop by my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/KaransPotsA… to see my personal work! Follow my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/KaransPotsAn…