The bentonite blanket I mentioned is a layer of bentonite sandwiched between 2 layers of fabric. It comes in rolls. If you were using potters clay you would have to roll out the plastic clay to form a liner which sounds like a lot of work.
You would be better off sourcing a non dispersive clay from a local excavation site and asking for a ute's worth.
To tell if the clay is non dispersive grab a small blob, roll it into a ball and drop it in a glass of water. If after 10 minutes it is still sitting there its non dispersive and ideal for lining your pond.
If on the other hand the water is very cloudy and the blob of clay has slumped to the bottom of the glass or dissolved you have a dispersive clay which is no good.