Making this Ceramic Lamp Base is so Satisfying. From Start to Finish

Today I'm making a lamp base for a friend who's just moved into a new home. But since the wiring of lamps can be a hassle, I've found ready-made parts to make this project super accessible. One tricky aspect will be getting the size of the lamp base right for those parts. I've prepared a little under 3 kilos of clay. This may seem like a lot, but I don't want my base to be light. A little heft will add to the stability and that's a good thing in a lamp base. So I throw down and centre my clay. Once the clay is centred, I flatten the clay. And then I push down and open out. I pull up the walls. I'm making quite a tall narrow cylinder. And as usual, I want to get the height and then I'll shape. I'm making a fairly classically shaped lamp base here. But really there are few limitations here in terms of shape. You can match the shape and size to your skill level. I remember making a lamp base as a beginner. And how satisfying a project it was. And now I smooth the side with a rib. I shape by colouring in a little. And bellying out. I'm using my hand to push out from the inside. And I'm using a rib on the outside to support the walls. I'm going to create a closed form. And then I can play around with the shape a little more. And now I shape with a rib. And trim away some of the clay at the base. And that's about it. What you don't see is that I've been using a mirror as a shape. This is a good way of getting a better perspective of the shapes you're making. So now I've set aside my lamp base to dry to leather hard. So now I cut a hole in the top. I've measured my lamp fixture. So I know I need to cut the hole to shrink down to 47mm. I should have about 3mm tolerance. You'll need to know the shrinkage of your clay at this point. My shrinkage is around 6%. Clay shrinkage is dependent on the firing temperature. And often suppliers will indicate shrinkage rates for firing at various temperatures. I'm going to add some texture to the lamp base by carving. Now carving is not something I've done much of. So I'm up for a bit of experimentation and learning here. I'm going to carve bands of lines. So I start by marking out the bands. And then I start carving. It's feeling a little shaky but I'll reserve judgement for the final product. Ok, let's speed this up just a little. I'm hoping that the carving will allow the glaze to catch the light. My lamp base is still on the bat at this time. My thinking is it makes it easier to carve. Up until now I haven't had to access the base of the pot. But now I wire through. And once I've wired through I'm going to cut out the base of the pot. I need to be able to feed the cord and part of the fitting through this hole. So I add a channel for the cord. The channel will hold the cord in place and allow the lamp base to sit flat. Once I've tidied up the base I finish the carving. I raise the base for easier access. Once I've finished the carving I set aside to dry. And then I load into the kiln for a bisque fire. Once fired I glaze. And I'm rolling the lamp base in glaze. Pouring glaze would work equally well. And then I load into the kiln for the glaze firing. The lamps are finished and they look great illuminated. The lamp on the right has been wired by an electrician. The lamp on the left I've put together with a light fitting. It's a pre-wired lamp fitting. The top of the fitting screws off. I feed the base of the fitting through the lamp base. And then I put the lampshade on top of that. And then screw the fitting together. And I'm ready to switch on. I've tried to match the shade with each individual lamp base. This has been a really satisfying project. And I'm keen to experiment with more shapes and finishes. If you're interested in more really useful ceramic design items. Why don't you check out my self-watering planter video. Be sure to subscribe so you stay up to date with our videos. And as always happy potting.