When we began working with clay is really an art form with a strange
combination, first we feel instinctively the potential of clay's wonderful quality of
plasticity and you will be subtly manipulated by it.
Is irresistible shaping moist clay into a simple bowl or building sculpture, is a
voyage into dreams and visions in an act of creation.
     The perfect ceramic clay bodies are blends of different clays and other
substances that give them the plasticity so it's easily chapped with out crumbling
or collapsing, another quality porosity open enough to dry and fire without
cracking, wrapping or shrinking too much,  different type of clay bodies have
different range of temperatures containing carefully calculated amount of
fluxing agent that control the temperature or vitreous.
     It is very important to select the clay body that suits the use for which it is
intended such as sculpture, wheel throwing, and so on.
     Clay can be brought from any local studio supplier this moist clay body is
ready to use and is packed in heavy plastic storage bags. When I began years ago
in this magic world was for me a great advantage but while I was learning and
became more involve I have and used my own formulas of  the clay body  for
my art work.
     There are different techniques for hand building like pinched forms, clay
slab, press molds, drape molds, clay inlay or over clay form, throwing on the
potter's wheel or working with coils.
     For centuries coil building has been the primary methods of making pottery
and continuing being one of the basic methods of clay construction for its
complex and interesting imaginative forms and can be built with lengths of clay
coils.
     In contemporary ceramics the coil methods can be used to best advantage,
contrary to some current thoughts, by placing less emphasis on total symmetry
in favour of asymmetrical forms.
     With this clay for coil building should be take care for it specially moist
because of its excessive exposure to the heat of the hands.
In each  of  the following pictures I'm making a sculpture with coils I will
explain the details on this hand building technique. Clay is wedged to remove air
pockets and to make clay smooth and plastic. To make a coil, squeeze out a long
rope of well kneaded clay by hand. The more symmetrical the rope,
easier it will be to roll.
Ceramic  Technique Coils
    Lay this on a table and roll it back and forth, applying light even pressure, keeping hands parallel with
the table, and using the full length of the fingers and palms.  Short, quick rolling with only fingertips or
palm will result in flat, uneven coils. With the practicing you can make enough uniform coils. Roll from the
centre of the long lump towards the ends separating and sliding your hands along the clay as you roll it. The
ends of each coil are cut diagonally, scored and painted with slip made from the same kind of clay and welded
together.