It is disappointing to see your hard work turn into a cracked piece of pottery clay after drying. This has happened to me many times. So I set out to eliminate the factors that can cause cracking. This is what I discovered... If some pieces of pottery clay dry faster than others, it cracks.Clay shrinks when it dries.The pottery will be subject to internal strain if one clay part shrinks faster than the other.To cope with the strain, the clay cracks. Uneven drying is the primary reason pottery clay cracks, but there are many other factors. Continue reading to learn more about the causes and ways to prevent cracks from happening in the future.