Ring Pot Demo

I've kinda always wanted to do an online demo, and I had a few free moments this evening so I decided to demo one of my favorite pots--a ring jug. Ring jugs have a great southern history and they are just lots of fun to make. People always ask--those things are hollow?? Anyway, they are really easy to make; just a double walled pot that is closed in. It takes a bit of trimming to get it just right, but its really neat to have a perfectly round ring jug in the end.


First, center a wide flat hump, about the size you want the widest point of your jug.


Open up as wide as you want the hole in the middle of your jug--make sure to allow enough clay to pull up two walls.

Separate your hump into two parts, getting it ready to pull up the walls.

Pull up the inside wall. The less clay you leave at the bottom, the easier it will be to trim.

Pull up the outer wall and curve it in at the top. Leave your walls relatively thin at the top.

Score the outer wall. You can score the inner as well, but it's not necessary, the clay is usually wet enough not to need scoring at all.

Roll the inner wall over the outer making sure that they overlap about half an inch.
Use a rib to smooth out the seam. You can use a pretty fair amount of pressure--the trapped air inside will keep it from collapsing.

Trim off as much excess as you can now, it will make it much easier to trim later. I've tried to trim the excess in the middle with very little success.
Run a wire underneath the pot, and let set up till leather hard. Maybe I'll do a trimming and attaching demo for the neck and handle. I don't know. Anyway--that was fun. Hope you enjoyed it!!