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All my figures and large pots are made with the coil, pinch and paddle method. It is a lot like how the mud wasps make their nests. I watch them working in my studio, forming the tiny vessel shapes, centimeter by centimeter, with the same clay I use to make my pieces.
To begin a figure I start with a slab of clay made into a flattened cylinder which forms the torso. I add short coils or wads of clay to build on the legs, pinching and paddling, compressing soft moist clay with my hands into one continuous piece, working inch by inch toward the feet. The same process is used to build up the torso and arms.
The feet and hands are made as separate parts, then attached to the open ankles and wrists. With eye and hands, I pinch and paddle my way, shaping the over-all form as I go up to the head. The last feature I work on is the face, cutting the holes for eyes and mouth to get the right expression. If the eye holes are too big, too close together, too far apart, the spirit of the piece is not free to come out. When it all comes together, the figure is looking straight at you.
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