How I finally stopped my pinch pot fruit from cracking - steps that actually worked

I did one of these fruit pinch projects in an evening class a couple years back and my apple came out looking more like a tomato, mostly because I pinched way too fast and left a heavy bottom. The wall near the base was probly twice as thick as the top, and sure enough I got a crack right around the shoulder when it dried. Second try I actually stopped every few rotations to feel the wall between my fingers, and that made all the difference.

My stem kept popping off too, til I realized I was attaching it too late, when the body was allready leather hard and the stem was still soft. Once I let both get to the same dryness stage and really chewed up the contact area with a fork before adding slip, it finally held thru the bisque and the glaze fire.

On the leaf, I agree it sells the whole piece, but I had better luck cutting mine from a flattened slab and draping it over a spoon overnight instead of just rolling it out flat. That little curve makes it look like it grew there. One thing I'd add from my one disaster with a rounded closed form: poke a tiny hidden hole somewhere under the leaf before it dries. Mine had a hollow pocket and the steam made the bottom bulge in the kiln. Not pretty.

Agree on the spoon trick, that little curve makes all the difference. I made a pear in a community studio class last winter and draped the leaf over a butter knife overnight, same idea, and it came out looking way more natural than my first attempt wich sat flat like a sticker. I also learned to press the vein line after the drape, not before, otherwise the curve pulls the mark crooked.

The one thing I'd add about form is the base, since a sphere wants to roll and an apple that tips over on the shelf drives me quietly insane. When mine gets to leather hard I take a surform or even a butter knife and shave a shallow flat spot on the bottom, maybe the width of a nickel, then smooth it back down with a damp sponge so the facet disappears visually but still does its job. Test it on a level table before bisque, because after glazing you're stuck with whatever wobble you baked in.

Update: tried the flat spot on the bottom trick from the third reply on my latest batch and yeah, no more apples rolling off the ware board. I've been teaching this for two decades and never thought to shave a base like that. Also liked the butter knife idea for the leaf curve, stealing that for my students this fall.