Roll a piece of china clay that weighs approximately 5 pounds into a ball.
Slap your china ball onto the exact middle of your potter's wheel. Press the edges of the clay into the face of the wheel. Try not to get any air between the clay and wheel.
Fill your bucket with water. Wet your hands and spin the wheel at a medium speed.
Place your left hand at the side of the clay and your right hand on top of the clay ball. Apply pressure with your left hand so that the clay becomes a tall column, then use your right to press the clay back down. Repeat this process several dozen times. This will remove air bubbles from your clay and make your crucible stronger.
Apply gentle pressure against the clay ball with your left hand and press your right thumb into the center of the top of the clay ball. Your thumb should make an indentation. This is the start of your bowl. Keep the clay wet but not soggy by adding water from the bucket with your right hand as necessary.
Steady the side of your clay with your left hand. Insert your right hand into the indentation with your palm against the inside wall of your bowl and your fingers pointed downwards. Continuously press your right fingers into the center of the bowl while gently pulling the walls of the bowl upwards with your left hand.
Clean up the sides and inner wall of your crucible with your potter's tools. Remove any bumps or excess slurry.
Stop spinning the potter's wheel when your crucible bowl looks like you want it to. Cut the crucible from the wheel and allow it to dry completely.
Fire your crucible in a 1,200 degree Celsius kiln once it is bone dry.
Glaze your crucible with a high-temperature glaze to make it waterproof and fire it an additional time at 1,100 degrees Celsius to set the glaze. Your crucible is now ready to use.