Best Tools!

The Best Pottery Tools Aren't Always Bought

One of the questions I hear from new students is, "Should I buy a pottery tool kit before my next class?" My answer usually surprises them. "Not yet." 
 
It's easy to think that becoming a potter starts with collecting equipment. In reality, it starts with learning to see ordinary objects a little differently. Some of my favourite tools have never been sold as pottery tools.
​
A simple kitchen sponge helps control moisture, smooth surfaces and keep my hands clean. An old credit card can become a flexible rib for refining curves. A dinner fork creates perfect score marks before joining pieces together, and a wooden chopstick is wonderful for carving small details or reaching into places your fingers can't. Even an old toothbrush has earned a permanent place in my studio. It's perfect for creating texture, cleaning tools and brushing away dry clay dust from small areas. Students often smile when they discover how many useful things are already sitting in a kitchen drawer.
 
Over time, every potter develops favourite tools. Some are beautifully handcrafted wooden ribs or precision trimming tools. Others are simple objects that have quietly proved themselves over years of making. I still have tools that cost almost nothing but have become impossible to replace; not because they're expensive, but because they fit comfortably in my hand and have become part of my process.
 
That's one of the lovely things about working with clay. There isn't only one right way. Potters have always adapted, invented and experimented. Throughout history, makers have shaped clay using shells, fabric, carved sticks, smooth stones and anything else that left an interesting mark. Creativity doesn't begin when you buy another tool. It begins when you look at an everyday object and wonder, "What could this do?"
​ 
From the Studio
Every few months, a student brings in something unexpected. A textured rolling pin from a baking drawer. An old lace doily found in a grandparent's sewing basket. A piece of driftwood or a fresh exiting textured leaf collected during a walk. We try it in clay together, and sometimes it creates the most beautiful surface on the pot. Those little discoveries remind me that pottery is still full of surprises. If you're just beginning your clay journey, don't worry about building the perfect collection of tools. Bring your curiosity first. The rest will come, one piece at a time.

Happy making,
Shiva
 ​

---