The Makonde water vessel in the Carlos Museum's Charles S. Ackerman Galleries of African Art was made using two hand-building techniques, pinching and coiling. Ceramic artist and Carlos Museum educator Ana Vizurraga created videos to demonstrate these techniques, which have been used around the world for millennia.
How to create a coil pot
For an accompanying lesson plan that provides information about the things you will need to make your own water pots using these methods and introduces a lovely children's book about a young girl from Burkina Faso and her arduous daily journey to collect water using a similar clay pot worn on her head, click here.
To learn more about the Makonde water vessel in the museum's collection and how it relates to the scarcity of water in Africa, click here.
