Students start with nothing more than a small chunk of clay and some random objects. A flat slab of clay about one-quarter-inch thick provides a blank canvas. Students can press coins, leaves, bits of cloth or practically anything else into the clay to see what results. They can create patterns by repeated pressings of the same object. If they continue the pattern across several pieces, they can fire and assemble the pieces to create a mural.
A small ball of clay can become a pot or bowl when the student digs into the center of the ball with her thumbs and squeezes the clay between her fingers. Repeated pinching will create a thin wall of clay that can be shaped during the process to make a wide, shallow bowl or a tall, thin vase. Students may quickly reach a limit because of the length of their fingers. Pinching the pot too thin may result in cracking as the clay dries. Still, this is a useful exercise to gain experience with the material.
If a student can roll a ball of clay into a long, thin section and attach it to other snakes, then he can make a pot any size he wants. The usual method starts with a long piece of clay coiled in a flat spiral to make a base. When the base is the right size, then the student can start building vertically by spiraling more coils around the perimeter of the base until reaching the desired height. It's best to wet the clay lightly where it joins another piece, and scratching---or scoring---both pieces with a fork or knife will help the pieces stay together.
Larger clay studios will have a slab roller for making flat pieces of clay with a uniform thickness, but a sturdy cardboard tube or a rolling pin also works well. The students can cut out shapes from the slab, piecing them together just like the coils by scoring the pieces and applying some water at the joints. The slab building technique can create a simple box or large and intricate shapes.
To make a perfectly round pot, the student will probably want to use a wheel. Most wheels are powered by an electric motor and simply provide a flat, round surface that spins as the clay is shaped. The student will throw---more of a slam, actually---a ball of clay right onto the center of the wheel. The student presses her foot on a pedal to control the speed of the wheel while she cups her hands around the outside and presses toward the center of the wheel. When the clay is centered, she can then dig down inside the mound of clay and draw the edges up with both hands pressing at the clay from inside and outside. It may take a lot of practice, but the result is difficult to achieve by other means.