How to Make Ceramic Plates at Home

Creating ceramic plates at home is a rewarding and artistic endeavor that transforms simple clay into elegant, functional tableware. Learning how to make ceramic plates at home requires patience and precision, but it’s an accessible craft even for those new to pottery.

This guide will walk you through the process step by step, covering everything from selecting the best materials to overcoming common challenges, ensuring you can craft beautiful and long-lasting plates in your own space. By utilizing the widely used slab-building technique, you’ll develop essential skills to create food-safe and visually striking dinnerware with ease.

Getting Started: Safety and Preparation

Before you begin, it’s crucial to understand the safety protocols for working with clay. The primary concern is silica dust, which is present in dry clay and glazes. Inhaling this dust over long periods can be harmful, so proper precautions are essential. Always work in a well-ventilated area, and consider using a high-quality respirator mask, especially when mixing dry materials or sanding finished pieces. Keep your workspace clean by wet-wiping surfaces instead of sweeping, which can kick dust into the air. Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) like an apron and gloves will protect your clothes and skin.

Essential Materials and Tools

Gathering the right supplies is the first step. You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to start, especially with hand-building methods.

Choosing Your Clay

For plates, you’ll want a clay body with good structural integrity. Look for stoneware clays that contain grog—a pre-fired clay that has been ground into a fine sand. Grog adds strength, reduces shrinkage, and helps prevent warping, making it ideal for flat forms like plates. Many commercially available stoneware clays are formulated for dinnerware and fire to a dense, durable state.

Basic Pottery Tools

Your initial toolkit can be simple. You will need a wire tool for cutting clay, a potter’s needle for trimming and scoring, and various wooden or metal ribs for smoothing and compressing surfaces. A small sponge is invaluable for cleaning edges and adding moisture. A banding wheel, which is a manually spun turntable, is extremely helpful for trimming and decorating your plates evenly.

Equipment for Slab Building

To create uniform slabs, you will need a rolling pin and a pair of wooden dowels of your desired thickness, typically around 1/4 inch (6–7 mm). Placing the dowels on either side of your clay ensures you roll it to an even thickness. For more consistent results, a slab roller is a fantastic tool, though it represents a larger investment. You will also need “bats,” which are flat, portable discs made of wood or plastic, to work on and move your pieces without distorting them. Finally, drape or slump molds—curved plaster or bisque-fired forms—are used to shape the flat slab into a plate.

Choosing Your Plate-Making Method

There are several ways to form ceramic plates, but some are more beginner-friendly than others. While pinch pots and wheel throwing are valid techniques, the most reliable and consistent method for beginners is slab building. This guide will focus primarily on using slabs with molds.

Slab Building with Molds

Slab building is the process of rolling out a flat sheet of clay and forming it over or into a mold. A “drape mold” has a convex shape that you lay the clay over, while a “slump mold” has a concave shape that you press the clay into. Both achieve a similar result and are excellent for creating sets of uniform plates.

Other Hand-Building and Wheel Options

A simple pinch plate can be made by flattening a ball of clay and pinching the edges up, but achieving an even, flat base is challenging. For those with wheel-throwing skills, making plates on the wheel is a fast and efficient option. However, it requires significant practice to master centering large amounts of clay and pulling it into a wide, flat disc without it collapsing or developing an S-crack in the base.

How to Make Ceramic Plates at Home: Step-by-Step Guide

Here is a detailed breakdown of how to create a ceramic plate using the slab and drape mold technique.

Step 1: Wedge Your Clay

Wedging is the process of kneading clay to remove air bubbles and create a uniform consistency. Air pockets can cause a piece to crack or even explode during firing. Cut your clay in half with a wire tool; if you see any air pockets, you need to wedge it thoroughly until the internal structure is smooth and consistent.

Step 2: Roll an Even Slab

Place your lump of wedged clay between two wooden dowels that are about 1/4 inch (6–7 mm) thick. Use a rolling pin to flatten the clay, flipping and turning the slab frequently to prevent it from sticking to your work surface. The dowels will act as a guide, ensuring the slab is perfectly even.

Step 3: Compress the Clay

Once the slab is rolled, you must compress it on both sides using a firm rib. Hold the rib at a 45-degree angle and pull it across the entire surface. This process aligns the clay particles, strengthening the slab and significantly reducing the risk of warping during drying and firing. This is one of the most critical steps for making successful plates.

Step 4: Cut and Shape the Slab

You can create a template from paper or cardboard to cut out a perfect circle or desired shape from your slab. Place the template on the compressed clay and trace around it with a potter’s needle. Gently lift the cut slab and place it over your drape mold. Allow the clay to naturally settle and conform to the curve of the mold. Avoid aggressive stretching, which can lead to stress cracks.

Step 5: Add a Foot Ring

A foot ring elevates the plate, allows glaze to run without sticking to the kiln shelf, and provides a more finished look. To create one, roll a thin coil of clay. Score (scratch) a circle on the bottom of your plate where you want the foot to be, and also score the coil. Apply a thin layer of slip (a mixture of clay and water) to the scored areas and press the coil firmly in place. Smooth the joint with a wooden tool for a seamless connection. Alternatively, you can add three or four small, individual “feet” using the same score-and-slip method.

Step 6: Compress the Rim

The rim is the area most prone to warping. Once the plate is on the mold and the foot is attached, take a damp sponge or a soft rib and gently compress the edge of the plate. Run your tool around the rim several times to align the clay particles, making it strong and stable.

The Drying Process: Patience is Key

Proper drying is essential for preventing cracks and warping. Clay shrinks as it dries, and if one part of the plate dries faster than another, stress will build up and cause problems.

Slow and Even Drying

Place your newly formed plate on a porous surface like a drywall board, which helps pull moisture out evenly. Cover the plate loosely with a sheet of plastic to slow down the drying process. For the first 24 hours, leave the plate on the mold to help it retain its shape. After a day, it should be firm enough—at a “leather-hard” consistency—to be removed from the mold and flipped over to allow the bottom to dry. Continue to dry it slowly under plastic for several days, flipping it periodically.

First Firing: The Bisque Stage

Once your plate is completely dry (known as “bone dry”), it is ready for its first firing, called a bisque fire. This initial firing transforms the fragile greenware into a porous ceramic state, making it easier to handle and glaze.

Loading and Firing the Kiln

Bisque firing typically occurs at a relatively low temperature, between cone 06 and cone 04 (about 1855–1945°F or 1013–1063°C). When loading the kiln, you can stack pieces to save space, but ensure they are stable. If you have already glazed the bottom of your plate with underglaze, you will need to place it on kiln stilts to prevent it from sticking to the shelf.

Applying Glaze for Color and Functionality

Glazing adds color, texture, and a protective, food-safe surface to your plate. The possibilities are endless, but there are important considerations for dinnerware.

Choosing a Food-Safe Glaze

Always select glazes that are certified as food-safe or “liner” glazes when used on surfaces that will contact food. Check the manufacturer’s recommendations to ensure the glaze is non-toxic and stable once fired.

Application Methods

Before glazing, wipe your bisque-fired plate with a damp sponge to remove any dust. Apply a layer of wax resist to the bottom of the foot ring to prevent the glaze from sticking there. Glaze can be applied by dipping, pouring, or brushing. Aim for an even coat; two to three brushed coats are usually sufficient. Avoid applying the glaze too thickly, as this can lead to running or other defects. Pay close attention to clearing away any drips from the waxed foot before firing.

Second Firing: The Glaze Fire

The glaze firing is the final, high-temperature firing that melts the glaze into a glassy, durable layer and fully vitrifies the clay body.

Firing to Maturity

The temperature of your glaze firing depends on your clay body. Mid-range stoneware is typically fired to cone 5 or 6 (around 2167–2232°F or 1186–1222°C), while high-fire stoneware or porcelain goes to cone 10 (about 2381°F or 1305°C). During this firing, pieces cannot touch, as the melted glaze will fuse them. Once the kiln reaches temperature, it must cool down slowly over many hours. Opening the kiln too early can cause thermal shock, which will crack your plates.

Troubleshooting Common Plate Problems

You will likely encounter a few issues as you learn. Here are some of the most common problems and how to address them.

• Warping: Usually caused by uneven thickness, insufficient compression, or drying too quickly. Ensure your slabs are even and compress them thoroughly.
• S-Cracks: S-shaped cracks in the base are common on wheel-thrown plates and result from improper compression of the base.
• Crawling: This occurs when the glaze pulls away from the clay body, leaving bare spots. It is often caused by dust on the bisque ware or glaze that is applied too thickly.
• Crazing: A network of fine cracks in the glaze surface. This is due to a mismatch in the shrinkage rate between the clay body and the glaze.
• Pinholes and Blistering: These small holes or bubbles in the glaze can be caused by air or gasses escaping from the clay body during firing. Bisque firing to a slightly higher temperature can sometimes help.

Finishing and Caring for Your Plates

After the final firing, your plate is almost ready. Use a fine-grit sandpaper or a diamond sanding pad to smooth the unglazed foot ring. This prevents it from scratching your tables. Wash the plate with soap and water before its first use. Most stoneware, when fired correctly, is dishwasher and microwave safe, but handmade pottery can be more susceptible to thermal shock, so avoid extreme temperature changes.

Conclusion

Creating your own ceramic plates is a rewarding and enjoyable process that allows you to combine creativity with functionality. From shaping the clay to glazing and firing, every step is an opportunity to craft something truly unique. By following these tips on how to make ceramic plates at home, you can achieve beautiful and personalized stoneware pieces that are both practical and artistic. With proper care and attention to detail, your handmade plates will not only reflect your individual style but also become cherished items for everyday use or special occasions.