Making a Pineapple Vase | Inspired by Shozo Michikawa

This video is my take on the amazing Pineapple Vase technique by Shozo Michikawa.
A few years ago, my students started asking me about this technique after a recording of a demonstration by Michikawa was uploaded to KZbin. After a lot of a lot of trial and error, (and lots of watching this video: • Demonstration with Sho... ) I figured out my own version, which I show in this video. I also show how I might alter and modify the technique.
To make this style, wedge and center a large ball of clay. In this video, I use 10 lbs of red clay.
Then open and raise the walls, but try to keep the walls thick, at least 1 inch thick.
After raising the walls, add horizontal undercuts with a sharp knife or triangular pointed tool.
Then make horizontal cuts with a needle tool.
After your pattern is made, open the clay and push out from the inside. The tighter the cylinder, the more movement you will see in the pattern.
Continue open until you are happy with the shape. And as this is such a specialized technique, after you figure it out, try to modify it and make it your own.
Have fun!