Pinch method is one of the most basic ceramic forming technologies. Squeezing a small piece of mud into animals or figures is the first step for many children to learn to make pottery. Skilled folk artists can make many complicated shapes by kneading. There are also some contemporary ceramists who create large-scale works by kneading. Or, make many small parts by kneading and assemble them into a big sculpture. Kneading is a very expressive skill Finger prints left by pinching can also form interesting texture effects.
Clay strip molding (also known as coil method) is found in primitive pottery all over the world and can still be seen in many folk pottery workshops. The producer kneaded the dough into long strips of uniform thickness. Then vertically stack the mud strips according to the required modeling tray. The producer can polish the horizontal stripes on the surface of the object by hand or tool, or leave some stripes as decoration. Clay strip molding can be used to make small or large works. The size of the work depends on the thickness of the mud bar. In other words, the smaller the work, the finer the Dorobou, and the bigger the work, the bigger the Dorobou. At present, manual or electric Dorobou machines are sold all over the country, and the manual Dorobou is replaced by mechanical methods, and the object of production is far beyond the scope of traditional round utensils.
Plate method is also one of the traditional ceramic forming technologies. Generally speaking, producers can get clay pieces by rolling with a rolling pin, cutting with steel wire, or tapping. Mud chip molding is quite tailor-made, and it is the most common hand-made molding technique for sculptures or containers. From simple square pottery boxes to complex human modeling, clay sculpture can be used. Clay molding is also one of the traditional techniques of Yixing teapot. Now clay tablets are sold everywhere, and the role of rolling pins has been replaced by mechanical methods. This kind of clay chipper is a good helper for making large-scale works.