What may look like a straightforward pinch pot from the outside can give your finger tips quite a bit of information. One side might seem strong while the other gets pulled out fast. The rim might look great for a second and then get thin and wobbly. This can happen if your fingers stay working on the same place that is easy and forget to move around. Wall thickness isn’t about making the perfect bowl. It is about learning where your fingers should squeeze and where they should stay off.
When you are learning, use a small lump of prepared clay, not a big one. Having a smaller shape gives more information for your hands, and the clay is lighter for you to deal with. Press your thumb in, but make sure that there is still clay at the bottom so the base isn’t weak. As you open up the pinch pot shape, press with your fingers on the outside, and push with your thumb from the inside. Think of the pressure like a dialogue with both hands, not a push.
The most common place to squeeze too much is the rim. When the clay starts getting pulled open, you will find a temptation to keep pinching it because you can reach it easily. The issue is the rim gets thin before the lower wall is shaped. Instead, do small amounts and work up. Pinch, then turn the pinch pot a little and pinch, then pause and feel the wall thickness. If you notice the wall at the bottom is thick, work on that before the rim. Start the stronger rim with a thick area below the rim that has been raised evenly.
For one exercise, make 3 small pinch forms from the same clay body and size. On one, work as you usually do, without worrying too much. On the second, slow it down a bit and rotate the pinch pot after every pinch. On the third, have lighter pressure and spend more time feeling the wall thickness, and not on the shaping. Later you can look at them. This isn’t about deciding which is the prettiest. You should look for which one has a more solid base, which rim became thin, and which pinch marks look deeper.
Moisture will affect the wall thickness as well. If too much water is used for the surface, it may appear smoother for a moment, but the pinch pot will become weaker and encourage overworking. A damp sponge can help smooth out small issues, but shouldn’t substitute. When your pinch pot clay feels like it is too wet, or you can feel it turning to mush, or it looks overly slick, take your time, and don’t keep pressing. You can allow the form to dry a bit and do edge work when it gets to leather hard.
Look at your pinch pot from different angles before calling it done. Check the rim from your eye level. Turn it in your hands to see if it looks uneven or if one side is wider. Run a finger on the inner surface while holding it from the outside. Areas that are thicker will feel heavy and dull. You can feel thinner ones being more flexible. These checks will allow you to spot small flaws before the drying stage is complete.
One sign of progress is not a flawless pinch pot, but rather a form where you are making more deliberate choices. The base will hold the pinch pot up on its own; the pinch pot walls won’t collapse under pressure; the rim has enough thickness left for smoothing or trimming. Being able to stop before it is worked too hard shows that you are taking better and better ceramic steps. And stopping is as important a skill as squeezing.