How to Make a Sweet Potato Ocarina out of clay, instructions on how to make a ceramic 10 finger hole ocarina...

Making a Flat Bottom for the Ocarina

When I build an ocarina, the area where the mouthpiece will be attached is made flat. I found that a flat bottom made alignment of the mouthpiece to the beveled "lip" easier to accomplish. I was able to get consistent results from ocarina to ocarina.

Nowadays I often use a plaster mold that I made that has a flat area built into it. When I use another forming method, this is how I make the "bottom" flat.

(Click on pictures for a larger view)

View of ocarina's bottom before it is flattened.

Place the piece that will be flattened on a firm, flat surface. With an index finger press down on the clay using curved strokes. (see arrows).

When finished, the "bottom" piece of the ocarina should look like this.

(Figure 1) A cross section. Do not cut the piece in two like this. This is for illustration purposes only! (Figure 2) How the flat area should look.