Joining

Joining two pieces of clay presents more challenges. If the clay is quite moist--not much drier than when it comes out of the bag, we can usually just smoosh it together and smooth out the seam. But if the clay has dried a little, such as when adding a coiled foot to a bowl or joining the corners of a stiff slab box, we need to take care when joining the clay. The surfaces to be joined should be thoroughly roughened by scoring with a serrated rib and moistened with slip. It´s a good idea to repeat the scoring again after the slip has a chance to soak into the clay. Daub on a little more slip and firmly join the pieces. If possible, it´s good to compress the seam by smoothing it with a tool or rib or by paddling it gently.