Designing your vase

Designing Your Vase

Before we dive into building, let's take a moment to visualise your vase. It's a great way to give your making process some intention, though, don't worry if the design evolves as you go. That's part of the magic.

Visualising Your Vessel

Start by asking yourself:

• what shape reflects you?
• do you want your vase to be tall and elegant, or short and bold?
• will it be symmetrical, or have a lovely wobble to it?
• what colours speak to you? What textures?
• will you add decorative elements - like a flowered rim, marks, or brushwork?

Freya's Inspiration

For this lesson, I'm inspired by sunlight and flowers. I want my vase to open wide at the top like petals greeting the sun. It'll taper down into a rounded, curvy body and have a narrower, sturdy foot - because we all know I've made a few wobbly bottoms in my time!

Colour-wise, I'm thinking of soft pinks and greens, maybe with white to lighten and shift the tones across the body, creating something that feels radiant and alive.

I always think of the vase as a self-portrait - what energy do you want to hold and express through this form?

Sketch It Out

Take a moment to do a quick sketch or colour wash:

• use the acrylic paints you'll be working with later to try out tones and combinations
• it doesn't need to be perfect - just a simple visual to guide you
• if you change your mind halfway through building, that's totally okay. Adaptation is part of creativity.

Make a Template (Optional)

If you want a bit of structure while you build:

• fold your sketch in half vertically (this works well if your vase is symmetrical)
• cut out one side to create a profile stencil
• this can act as a guide - you'll hold it up to your vase as you build, checking the shape from the side.

If your shape is more abstract or freeform, skip the stencil and just follow your instincts.

Use the template if you need it - but if you're feeling bold, let your hands lead. There's no wrong way.

Now that you've got a sense of what you're making, we'll begin the actual build in the next lesson, starting from the base and working up with coils. See you there!