Making a Ceramic Clay Whistle Bead Demonstration



by Natalie Pappas

I will demonstrate the steps that go into making a small bead whistle. The hardest part is making the air/blow holes. Each whistle sounds a bit different because on each whistle the hole system is a bit different. How do they sound? Shrill. This is because they are so small. The larger the whistle, the deeper the sound.









Materials

  • Clay
  • A small cutting instrument, a knife or box cutter type tool
  • Something to scoop out the clay
  • Two sticks.
    • One end should be Cone-Shaped (like a pencil)
    • One Flat (I use wooden coffee stirrers
  • Ceramic Glaze
  • A Kiln (or access to a kiln)
  • Stainless Steel Rods (to hang the bead whistle on in the kiln)
  • Kiln Stilt Posts - This is what the rods sit on in the kiln. To see what I mean, see my Kiln Stacking Demonstration
  • Patience

Step One

I roll between five to ten 18-20 mm round balls and leave them until they are firm, not quite leatherhard. Usually it takes about 1/2 hour. If I am in a hurry, I'll set them outside in the sun for 10 minutes. Sidenote: Once I set a few of them outside on a small tray. When I went to get them, one was missing. It was a few feet away on the driveway. I picked it up and the bottom was flat. I decided a crow must have thought it was food, decided not, and dropped it. No other reason for it to be where it was, right?


Step Two

The previous photo shows the simple tools which are needed. One tool is for cutting each round in half. The curved tool is to scoop out the clay. The wooden sticks are for making the holes. As you can see, I have cut these in half and scooped out the clay.



Step Three

Each half needs to be put back together with its other half. I moisten the lip of each half round with water and stick them together. Then I apply a rolled strip of clay and smooth half over each side.







Half of the clay is now smoothed over the round.




Here is the other half, completely smoothed. It is round once more.




Step Four

The next step is to apply a small ball of clay to opposite sides. These are smoothed out in the same manner. One end will be attached to a leather cord, and the other will be to blow into the whistle.

The hardest part is to make the whistle holes. I use two wooden sticks. One is from a nail cuticle kit I got at the dollar store. It has a perfect 45 degree angle all the way around. I push, at the same time turning it gently until it breaks through.




Step Five

The other tool is a flat stick which I also found at the dollar store; I believe they are coffee stirrers. These are just the right width for a mouthpiece. First, I push the flat stick in this same top hole and make sure that all the clay is pushed out of the way. That is why three sides of this top hole is round and the side closest to the mouthpiece is not.

Step Six

The next step is to gently insert this same wooden stick into the mouthpiece. The goal is to have the airway exactly hit the middle of the back of the opening. The air hits the 45 degree angle and makes the whistling sound.



Here's where the Patience Comes Into Play

Do I get it right the first time? No. The second? No. It takes a few tries. Sometimes I have to start over. Othertimes I can plug up the hole, let the whistle reharden, and try again.

TIP
If you look into the top you can see that there is a small shelf where the air would hit if the whistle were blown into. Notice the angle of the wall in the previous photo.




Steps Seven, Eight, and Nine

  • Bisque in Kiln
  • Glaze
  • Refire in Kiln
Here is the whistle glazed. It has a nice shrill sound. Click here to hear it.


Some After Thoughts ...

Constructing a clay whistle is tremendously satisfying, but it can be frustrating as well. It is especially frustrating when it works great in the greenware stage and not so great after it is fired. This is because the clay moves ever so slightly in the firing and an angle that was perfect during construction may not be so perfect after a firing.

My best tip to offer is to just keep trying until you get something that works. Then make another and another, and then another. Keep at it. There is a great satisfying feeling in making these small whistles.

  • Find tools that feel comfortable in your hands.
  • Keep experimenting
  • Don't give up


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