Excellent demonstration. You say exactly what to do and how to do it, without going on with unnecessary words. You made this 4 years ago and I haven't seen any better communicator in clay.
I like how you explain that several tools could be used to achieve the same result. As a beginner I have spent so much money on fancy tools I don't even know how to use properly.
I made positive molds like yours, but the pots shrink and crack before going leather hard. The mold doesn't allow shrinkage. I made negative molds...no shrinkage cracks. The negative mold, also, just works better through the whole process and makes a nice smooth outer surface. The lip of the pot can be cut off at the top of the mold perfectly. Michael
if you have a problem with it sticking you can use a *damp* fine cotton cloth (like "flour sack" cloth) and smooth it over the mold (making sure there are *no* big bumps or folds in the cloth) before stretching the slab out over the mold, then when you go to turn it out the cloth will come away with the bowl and you can peel it out after. Doing this can make for more finishing work, but that can be minimized or eliminated by being careful when placing the cloth.
