Bubble Bowl

I finally finished another pottery piece! I say “finally,” because I have been to pottery class about three times this whole summer. But I am really happy with this one. Yay me!

It’s basically a simple press mold (where you press clay into a mold, in this case a bowl, and then smooth out the inside) but not so simple in that all those little bubbles were actually little rolled balls of clay. Ack. The trick was to get them to join together tightly enough as to not crash and burn, but also not get so squished that they lost their fun round shape.

I held my breath the whole way.

Bubble Bowl - Pottery Idea - Press Mold

Bubble Bowl - Pottery Idea - Press Mold

The other thing I love about this bowl is that it was inspired by a fellow student, who in turn was inspired by a piece from our teacher. I really appreciate the collaborative and sharing atmosphere at my studio, Stone Leaf Pottery. Yay us!


To get a peek at the process, here is the bowl just after it came out of the mold before it was fired the first time…

Bubble Bowl - Pottery Idea - Press Mold

And here is the bowl as it is being glazed. I put a heavy layer of the brown glaze on first and then wiped it off, so it would just stay in the cracks. Then I came back with the blue and green for the bubbles.
Bubble Bowl - Pottery Idea - Press Mold

Have you made a Bubble Bowl? Share your work!

This article has 33 comments

  1. Anonymous

    holy moly! that is gorgeous! I want one.

  2. joansy

    Wow! I love it.

  3. Megan

    What a cool idea.

  4. Kelly

    Wow…so pretty!

  5. Sizzle

    It’s really pretty! Good work!

  6. Reese

    a beautiful piece! Mass produce and sell it to Color Me Mine so all of us can get one. Or, you can simply start Greeblebowl next? 😉

  7. Rhiannon

    I love it! What are you going to put in it?

  8. Tree

    I am fascinated by the process! It seems to require so much patience and care. It’s lovely.

  9. Anonymous

    WOW!!!

  10. Tracey

    That is so cool!! Glad it survived all of the steps to end up so beautiful. Now just make sure no one knocks it over!

  11. Jeanette

    OMW, you are very very clever!

  12. Hip Mom's Guide

    Oh, yes, that has Etsy written all over it. The original “signature” piece, perhaps?

    Well done!

  13. monstergirlee

    Wow! Nice bowl, are you going to keep that one or Etsy it?
    Well done.

  14. Sue at eLuckypacket

    It’s gorgeous Aimee!

  15. Anonymous

    How much would it cost to get one?

    AH

  16. Kristy - Where's My Damn Answer

    I LOVE it. I’ve always been fascinated with ceramics/pottery. I’d love to take a class someday and make my own bubble bowl. 😀

    Thanks for sharing your masterpiece!

  17. blogapotamus

    what an impressive piece! Get yourself a wheel at home, woman, and start a new Etsy shop!

  18. amy

    Very cool! It makes me want to take a ceramics class!

  19. Laurie

    I did the tri-tone.

  20. zenrain

    that is gorgeous!

  21. Sarah

    I detest it. Only because it’s at your house and not mine.

  22. Aimee Greeblemonkey

    I am going to keep it! It’s become out new “receipt receptical” in my office at home.But I might have to make more, because it was really fun to do.And thanks so much y’all!

  23. fruitlady

    Very nice! I am probably going to look into getting Chris some classes for his B-Day!

  24. chloebear

    beautiful piece of art!

  25. Mary

    It’s beautiful! It reminds me of pepples in a mountain stream.

  26. Missy Wiggins

    I love it!

  27. Dory

    That’s GORGEOUS!
    Dory

  28. Mekhismom

    The bowl is so pretty. I am sure if you wanted to sell it you would have an buyer immediately.

  29. Sarah P

    Gorgeous! This just came across my pinterest!

  30. Cellas

    If the person was your fnired, they would probably be happy to hear from you. It would be a pleasant surprise to reconnect.If they don’t reply, it could be the wrong email address or an email address that they no longer use.I use it every day.

  31. Kathy

    Gorgeous! I would love to try this myself. Can you tell me how you got the clay out of the mold? Did you line the bowl with plastic wrap or…?

    • Aimee

      When clay dries, it shrinks – and you carefully just remove it from the bowl!

      • Emily Cacioppo Rogers

        How did you smooth out the inside and ensure that the balls all stuck together? Our pre-school class wants to make this – we want to have the kids roll all the balls for us. They’ve been practicing and have gotten really good at it! I figured if the kids rolled the balls and placed into the mold then I could do the smoothing on the inside. Any tips would be much appreciated!

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