Slide 4: Direct Pull Technique I - Pulling the Upper Half of Pot

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The potter begins pulling a pot by laying a thick ring of malleable, plastic, kneaded clay on the ground in an area that has been carefully swept clean of stones and debris. The ring is formed with approximately the same diameter that the final pot will have. The potter begins to work the mass of clay upwards, thinning the ring and constantly increasing the height of the walls. She uses her knuckles and fingers in an upward pulling motion as she backs around the pot, knees straight, keeping her upper body parallel to the ground as her arms do all the work. If the pot is small, as in this illustration, she may work seated and rotate the pot as she works.

The potter frequently dips her hands in a basin of water at her side. As the height of the wall is increased, the thickness of the original ring rapidly decreases, and the potter gradually curves or works the upper portion of the wall inward to form a hollow cone with a narrow opening at the top.

Supplementary Information

The direct pull technique is used among some ethnic groups in West Africa but is less common throughout African than modeling techniques such as coiling described previously. The potters are again exclusively female.

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