The Wanderer wrote:
Is it possible to make go bowls out of clay? More importantly, is it practical?
Certainly possible.
"Practical?" is answered by your application. If you were going to line the bowls with, say, leather or thick silk, or you were to leave a cloth bag in place, you could keep the most precious slate and shell stones in these fired clay bowls. Cheap glass or ceramic stones would get dinged up but that's why they're cheap. If you have sets of the weighted Ing stones, clay bowls could be an elegant step up.
But why clay? Will you decorate the sides and lids? Are you using special types of clays or bone china compounds? Are your throwing these, forming them from slabs, slumping, coiling or carving?
If you have skills as a ceramic artist, those skills might be adapted to other media. Among my go bowls is a pair woven of pine needles. they are delightful.