Arts & Literature
Wheel Throwing
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Welcome
Welcome to the Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit for Wheel Throwing. The Kiln Goddess is a big fan of the wheel. Centering is so grounding, physically, mentally, and spiritually. To create on the wheel never looses its magic, the pottery seems to magically form under your hand. So sit down, center yourself, get the wheel spinning, add a bit of water, tuck your elbows in and touch your hands to clay. Lets see what we can make.
This lens is always a work in progress, your feedback is appreciated.
Wheel Throwing
- Why Do They Call it Throwing?
- That answer and other explainations on pottery terms.
- Potters and Their Wheels
- Another great link from Robert Compton. A scrapbook of sort of potters sitting and standing at their wheels, illustrating the various positions one can choose to work in. Love that wheel mounted on the ceiling.
- One Potter's Process
- Potter Scott Cooper writes about his artistic process and wheelthrowing.
Preparing the Clay
Want to know about clay, wedging and preparing your clay for throwing?-
Clay and Clay Prep
-
Welcome to the Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit of Clay ;) Clay is really what it is all about. This moist, slimey, muddy ball of clay is the beginning of journey. So where will your journey take you? Go grab yourself a lump of clay and find out. Still a work...
Getting Started
The first step in throwing on the wheel is to get your wedged lump of clay on the wheel. Take a very dry damp sponge and wet the wheel head or bat. I generally take my dry damp sponge and place it in the middle of the throwing surface and get the wheel spinning and draw my hand out towards the edge of the spinning surface til the surface is damp uniformly.
Now we need to get the clay on the wheel, there are likely as many methods in doing this as there are potters but my method is to aim roughly for center of the wheelhead or bat and throw it on with enough force so that the clay will adhere to the wheelhead or bat. With practice the clay will land near center and be in the perfect position to begin centering the clay lump.
Beginners might be more comfortable with placing the lump carefully in the middle of the bat or wheelhead and pressing down with enough pressure to adhere the clay. Be careful not to create an air pocket when doing this.
Now we need to get the clay on the wheel, there are likely as many methods in doing this as there are potters but my method is to aim roughly for center of the wheelhead or bat and throw it on with enough force so that the clay will adhere to the wheelhead or bat. With practice the clay will land near center and be in the perfect position to begin centering the clay lump.
Beginners might be more comfortable with placing the lump carefully in the middle of the bat or wheelhead and pressing down with enough pressure to adhere the clay. Be careful not to create an air pocket when doing this.
Centering
Centering is the most important step in creating your pot. It is very hard to get a good pot out of an off centered lump of clay. So center yourself mind, body and spirit. Ground your mind, let the problems surrounding you go, tuck your elbows into your hips and steady yourself, lean into the clay, start the wheel spinning, wet your hands and the clay now touch your hands to the clay and start to center.
- Centering
- Some photos and discussion about the different methods for centering your clay on the wheel.
Basic Pottery Tools for Wheel Throwing from Dick Blick
This is your basic kit that you will need to start throwing. Add to this a soft steel fettling knife and you are ready to start throwing.
Kemper Pottery Tool Kit
Quality tools of finest stainless steel and select, smooth hardwood. Includes a potter's rib, steel scraper, wood modeling tool, needle tool, ribbon tool, loop tool, sponge, and wire clay cutter.
Kemper Fettling Knives
Use these knives to trim, carve, remove mold marks and sculpt ceramics, greenware, styrofoam, and more. The softer steel blade is flexible enough to bend while the harder is a tempered steel blade with the same feel as other conventional blades. Blades are 4" (102 mm) long, total length 8" (203 mm).
Kemper Pottery Tool Kit
Kemper Fettling Knives
Future Notes on Centering
Inner Observations
As I pointed out centering is so important to a successful pot, I thought some further words of advice might help finding center.
It is very important to be center within yourself before you begin to center. A deep cleansing breath might help. You need to let go of the worries around you and just let your present concern just be you, the wheel and the clay.
Seeking a point of grounding is also important. The task of centering is about you moving the clay not the clay moving you. You must find a position where you and especially your arm does not move so you can exert force on the clay and move it to the center of the wheel head.
Related to grounding is stillness. Once you center yourself and find your ground a stillness envelopes you and you can speak with the clay spinning on your wheel. The stillness allows your hands to feel the subtle movement of the clay. Those movements can tell you if the clay is centered yet and sometimes even why the clay isn't centering(i.e. a trapped air bubble, something foreign in the clay, drier lumps with in your clay etc.).
Some days center doesn't seem to come easy, I refer to those kind of days as 'bad hair days in the pot shop'. Some days it is just harder to shake the stresses of life outside the studio and concentrate on the task at hand. When a day like this becomes too overbearing I just give up and go watch a sunset or listen to the birds, just something to bring you harmony and silence your inner dischord.
It is very important to be center within yourself before you begin to center. A deep cleansing breath might help. You need to let go of the worries around you and just let your present concern just be you, the wheel and the clay.
Seeking a point of grounding is also important. The task of centering is about you moving the clay not the clay moving you. You must find a position where you and especially your arm does not move so you can exert force on the clay and move it to the center of the wheel head.
Related to grounding is stillness. Once you center yourself and find your ground a stillness envelopes you and you can speak with the clay spinning on your wheel. The stillness allows your hands to feel the subtle movement of the clay. Those movements can tell you if the clay is centered yet and sometimes even why the clay isn't centering(i.e. a trapped air bubble, something foreign in the clay, drier lumps with in your clay etc.).
Some days center doesn't seem to come easy, I refer to those kind of days as 'bad hair days in the pot shop'. Some days it is just harder to shake the stresses of life outside the studio and concentrate on the task at hand. When a day like this becomes too overbearing I just give up and go watch a sunset or listen to the birds, just something to bring you harmony and silence your inner dischord.
The Cylinder
The cylinder is a flat bottomed form. It is important to attain this characteristic from first opening. When one opens the cone on the wheel bring your thumb or finger(or what ever you open with) straight across the bottom. A common error is to either ride the wall or dip your hand, one will result in a bowlish form and the other a groove in the interior floor of the pot. The Bowl
I've always found the bowl to be a mystical form. The continuous curve is a delight to run your hand across. A bowl can hold possibilities, sustenance, or nothing at all.Throwing a bowl is a bit different than throwing a cylinder as when one opens the cone one lets one hand ride up the wall as one opens the form instead of opening straight across. The point of letting your hand ride up the wall is to start the continuous curve that makes up a bowls belly. If you want a wide bowl you ride up the wall slowly as you open, if you want a tall bowl your hand rides up the wall fast. This first movement defines the shape of your bowl.
The Kiln Goddess' Bowls
This lens features slide shows of my work, my bowls.-
The Bowl
-
The bowl is a simple object. It can hold everything or nothing. It can contain superficial items that are meaningless to your life or contain the precious life giving sustenances of food or water. The bowl is a trusted tool, an everyday friend, but s...
Great Book on Bowls on Amazon
500 Bowls: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design
Lovely photo book. Great bowls.
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $24.95
Usually ships in 24 hours
Great Kiln Goddess Created Gear on CafePress
The Kiln Goddess also dabbles in digital art. Here are some designs she created especially for clay artists and potters to enjoy.
Centered/Not Centered Baseball Jersey
A shirt for all the potters out there. Centered and throwing fine on the front but yikes clay disaster on the back. Great to wear around the studio.
Price: 23.49
My Other Mug... Mug
Your handthrown mug has disappeared again, your co-workers must have a great collection by now. My Other Mug is Handmade mug is a great gift for the potter with sticky fingered office mates.
Price: 13.59
Centered/Not Centered Tote Bag
A tote for all the potters out there. Centered and throwing fine on the front but yikes clay disaster on the back. Great to carry your stuff to the studio.
Price: 16.99
Wheel Throwing Tutorials and Projects
Here are some basic wheel throwing techniques. Some of these links double in information but show great pictures of different potters throwing. You never know what angle of the same motion will make something click when you are having problems throwing.
- Wheel Throwing Pictorial Tutorial
- The first page of a 4 page photo tutorial on how the throw on the wheel. This first page covers centering.
- A Brief Wheel Throwing Pictorial Tutorial
- A one page tutorial on throwing on the wheel.
- Learning to Throw
- A very complete photo tutorial on learning to throw by Marvin Bartel at Goshen College.
- Throwing the Basic Cylinder
- A DIY demo on throwing a cylinder vase. I would like to stress the flat floor that is formed first upon opening the form, this is very important to the cylinder form.
- The Wheel Throwing Process
- Artist/potter John Tilton talk about his process of throwing porcelain.
- Wheelthrowing Photos
- Great photos Of a pot being thrown.
- Wheel Throwing Tips
- Helpful hints for successful throwing.
- Wheel-Thrown Pottery: Tips for a Clay Novice
- A beginner speaks about his experience during his first class in clay.
Video Throwing Instructions
- Beginner Techniques for Making Wheel Thrown Clay Pottery
- I found this link to a series of video tutorials of pottery teacher Mark Kooy throwing on the wheel. I have not viewed the entire series as that would take forever on dialup but those of you with fast connections might find this helpful. The few parts of the series I did view seemed informative.
Throwing Tutorials: Specialized Forms
- Throwing a Sectional Vase
- A four page demo on throwing a vase made in sections from the DIY network.
- Throwing Canister Lids
- A DIY Network demo on throwing a canister and lids.
- Four Lid Cut Aways
- Four sample lids shown in cut away view.
- A Lid Demo
- Scroll down on this linked page to see Bruce Davis' method for making lids, look at his nice pots while there too.
- Throwing Large Pots
- Robert Compton shows how to throw large pots on the potter's wheel.
- Throwing a Large Bottle
- Pictorial article documenting Edouard Bastarache throwing a large bottle form on the wheel.
- Wheel Thrown Aquariums
- Yes, you read that right, wheelthrown aquariums by Robert Compton.
- Thrown Luminaries
- The process of throwing and carving luminaries. Notice how this potter adds multicolored clays to his lump of clay before throwing them for a interesting color pattern on his finished piece.
- Teapots: Thrown or Handbuilt
- This isn't really a throwing tutorial but more of things to consider when making a teapot, can apply to both handbuilt and wheel thrown teapot forms..
- Wheel Thrown Sinks
- Brief instructions on how to throw a sink form on the wheel.
Throwing on a Bat
What is a Bat and Why Should I Use One?
A bat is a throwing surface that you attach to the top of your wheel head.There are many different systems on Bats available. I think the most easiest bat system uses bat pins to attach the bat to the wheel head. Bat Pins are likely available at your local hardware store. The pins are inserted into the pre-drilled holes you will find on most major manufactured wheels and then secured on the underside of the wheel head with butterfly nuts. Here are some bats available from Dick Blick that use the pin system for bat attachment.
I like throwing on a bat for a variety of reasons but the number one reason to use a bat is the ease of ware removal from the wheel head. Just lift your bat that you threw your work on off the wheel head and slap another bat on and you are ready to throw your next pot.
Bats I feel are absolutely essential if you are throwing platters or other wide forms that might easily distort if you try to remove the work from the wheel while the work is freshly thrown.
Another nice use of a bat is to keep the work centered. Say you throw a bowl and want to come back when the bowl is leather hard and incise or carve some lines or spirals in the bowl. Place the bat back on the wheel and no need to recenter the bowl, it is in the place as you threw it ready for your tools to make their mark.
You can't go wrong investing in some bats if you enjoy throwing on the wheel.
I like throwing on a bat for a variety of reasons but the number one reason to use a bat is the ease of ware removal from the wheel head. Just lift your bat that you threw your work on off the wheel head and slap another bat on and you are ready to throw your next pot.
Bats I feel are absolutely essential if you are throwing platters or other wide forms that might easily distort if you try to remove the work from the wheel while the work is freshly thrown.
Another nice use of a bat is to keep the work centered. Say you throw a bowl and want to come back when the bowl is leather hard and incise or carve some lines or spirals in the bowl. Place the bat back on the wheel and no need to recenter the bowl, it is in the place as you threw it ready for your tools to make their mark.
You can't go wrong investing in some bats if you enjoy throwing on the wheel.
Trimming Your Pot
Trimming your pot is just as important as throwing it. This step gives the exterior of your pot its finished shape, its pedestal to speak from, its stable place to come to ground.
Not only does the foot of your pot need to be stable but lovely to look at and fit the pot correctly in proportion and feel. It needs to be smooth so as to not scratch a table. It also is the frame to your signiture on the bottom of your pot so make it well. A well made pot with no foot or or a sloppy foot is a disappointment when one flips it over to view it from all sides.
Not only does the foot of your pot need to be stable but lovely to look at and fit the pot correctly in proportion and feel. It needs to be smooth so as to not scratch a table. It also is the frame to your signiture on the bottom of your pot so make it well. A well made pot with no foot or or a sloppy foot is a disappointment when one flips it over to view it from all sides.
Trimming Tutorials
- Trimming Canisters and Lids
- A DIY Demo for trimming.
Extending Drying Time
Sometimes you just can't get back to a pot when it is going to be dry. Often I find my pot almost ready to be trimmed but not quite and I am going to be out of the studio for the weekend and I know the pot will be too dry by the time I can return. What to do?
There are different ways to keep your ware wet. One is to invest in a wet cabinet. These will keep the the air in the cabinet humid so the pot won't dry. They are commercially available but rather pricey.
You can make your own wet cabinet out of an old refridgerator or freezer. Place a pan of water in the bottom of the fridge and make sure the door seal is still good and there you have a nice wet cabinet. Make sure you dispose of the chemical refridgerent as laws require and make sure it is locked if children have access to it.
A wet cabinet on a smaller scale can be made from a chest cooler as long as the cooler has a good seal. Place a bowl of water in the cooler with your ware and close the lid. Experiment with this as not all coolers have a vapor lock seal.
This next method is a simple way to keep leather hard work wet for shorter periods. This method will slightly rehydrate your ware so it will go from being leather hard to being slightly soft of leatherhard. What you need is a tile or plastic bat, garbage bag of good quality, a couple sheets of newspaper, and your sponge you throw with(or some other similar sponge). Place sheets of newspaper on bat or tile. Place leather hard pot on newspaper rim down. Wet sponge and squeeze out the water til the sponge is still heavy with water but not drippy. Place sponge on paper a few inches from bowl. Now cover the entire thing with the garbage bag. Tuck the opening of the bag under the bat or tile. The wet sponge will wet the newspaper and the rim will wick the moisture up the pot walls keeping the bowl damp. This is a perfect answer for that weekend I can not get back to my pots because I am away.
There are different ways to keep your ware wet. One is to invest in a wet cabinet. These will keep the the air in the cabinet humid so the pot won't dry. They are commercially available but rather pricey.
You can make your own wet cabinet out of an old refridgerator or freezer. Place a pan of water in the bottom of the fridge and make sure the door seal is still good and there you have a nice wet cabinet. Make sure you dispose of the chemical refridgerent as laws require and make sure it is locked if children have access to it.
A wet cabinet on a smaller scale can be made from a chest cooler as long as the cooler has a good seal. Place a bowl of water in the cooler with your ware and close the lid. Experiment with this as not all coolers have a vapor lock seal.
This next method is a simple way to keep leather hard work wet for shorter periods. This method will slightly rehydrate your ware so it will go from being leather hard to being slightly soft of leatherhard. What you need is a tile or plastic bat, garbage bag of good quality, a couple sheets of newspaper, and your sponge you throw with(or some other similar sponge). Place sheets of newspaper on bat or tile. Place leather hard pot on newspaper rim down. Wet sponge and squeeze out the water til the sponge is still heavy with water but not drippy. Place sponge on paper a few inches from bowl. Now cover the entire thing with the garbage bag. Tuck the opening of the bag under the bat or tile. The wet sponge will wet the newspaper and the rim will wick the moisture up the pot walls keeping the bowl damp. This is a perfect answer for that weekend I can not get back to my pots because I am away.
Handles and Knobs
- Pulled Handles
- A photo tutorial on pulling handles.
Great Wheel Throwing Books on Amazon
Wheel-Thrown Pottery (DIY): An Illustrated Guide of Basic Techniques from the Hit DIY Show Throwing Clay (DIY Network)
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $17.95
Usually ships in 24 hours
Wheel-Thrown Ceramics: Altering, Trimming, Adding, Finishing (A Lark Ceramics Book)
Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $24.95
Potter's Wheel, The
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $29.95
Usually ships in 24 hours
Thrown Pottery Techniques Revealed: The Secrets of Perfect Throwing Shown in Unique Cutaway Photography
A fairly good book with lots of photos of proper hand positions and cut aways of properly thrown ware.
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $29.95
Usually ships in 24 hours
Wheel Throwing Extras
- Live Pottery Cam
- I've not actually seen any throwing as I can't seem to get the plug in to work with my older computer. But for those of you that can here is a live web cam of a potter throwing. I understand he is not always at the wheel but you might catch him if you go look, I've heard he has a cat that might wander by now and again too.
- Wet Pots
- A blog living up to its name, lovely just thrown wet pots to be seen here.
Pottery Wheels
- Potter's Wheels
- Discussion of three basic types of wheels.
Brent Potter's Wheels available from Dick Blick
Brent Model EX Potter's Wheel
Favorite Potter's Wheel
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My Wheel or Buying a Used Wheel
The Kiln Goddess finally has her own wheel. Its an old Brent wheel that I just bought used. So What does one look for it a used electric wheel?
What brand?: If it is a major brand buying parts will be easier. Personally I like Brent, Creative Industries, and Soldner wheels.
How does it look?: Are the legs rusty? Are they too rusty? Some rust is ok in an old wheel but too much rust could weaken the wheels stability. Is the wheelhead pitted with oxidation? Too much oxidation will make a rough throw but wheelheads can usually be replaced. What about the cords? Check the power and foot pedal cords for splits and fraying. If they are damaged they will need to be replaced. You do not want to work on a wheel with water with frayed cords.
Is it stable?: Push on the wheel, does it shake. Don't purchase if it does. You will never be able to center on an unstable wheel.
Does it work?: Turn it on. Does it power on? Get it spinning. Does the wheel spin smoothly? Does the motor make any funny sounds? Does it smell hot when running?
Check the belt: Most wheels are turned by a belt that runs from the motor to the wheelhead shaft. If the wheel seems to not run smoothly or is making a strange sound the belt could be slipping. Get down on your hands and knees and look at the underside of the wheel and watch the wheel turn from the underside. If it is a belt slipping it is an easy fix.
Will it fit in your studio/house?Measure all doorways the wheel will need to get thru to get to its spot you want it. Make sure the wheel will fit. I looked at a motorized kickwheel that was 2" too big to fit thru my door.
Not all problems make a wheel undesirable but if you need to fix something to make the wheel usable you need to not pay top dollar. Figure how much it will cost to fix and take that in to consideration when deciding to purchase a used wheel.
What brand?: If it is a major brand buying parts will be easier. Personally I like Brent, Creative Industries, and Soldner wheels.
How does it look?: Are the legs rusty? Are they too rusty? Some rust is ok in an old wheel but too much rust could weaken the wheels stability. Is the wheelhead pitted with oxidation? Too much oxidation will make a rough throw but wheelheads can usually be replaced. What about the cords? Check the power and foot pedal cords for splits and fraying. If they are damaged they will need to be replaced. You do not want to work on a wheel with water with frayed cords.
Is it stable?: Push on the wheel, does it shake. Don't purchase if it does. You will never be able to center on an unstable wheel.
Does it work?: Turn it on. Does it power on? Get it spinning. Does the wheel spin smoothly? Does the motor make any funny sounds? Does it smell hot when running?
Check the belt: Most wheels are turned by a belt that runs from the motor to the wheelhead shaft. If the wheel seems to not run smoothly or is making a strange sound the belt could be slipping. Get down on your hands and knees and look at the underside of the wheel and watch the wheel turn from the underside. If it is a belt slipping it is an easy fix.
Will it fit in your studio/house?Measure all doorways the wheel will need to get thru to get to its spot you want it. Make sure the wheel will fit. I looked at a motorized kickwheel that was 2" too big to fit thru my door.
Not all problems make a wheel undesirable but if you need to fix something to make the wheel usable you need to not pay top dollar. Figure how much it will cost to fix and take that in to consideration when deciding to purchase a used wheel.
Wheels on Ebay
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Build Your Own Wheel
- Build your Own Kickwheel
- An article from Morther Earth News. If you wish to build the wheel the diagrams needed can be found under the tools side bar.
- Another Kickwheel
- A different set of plans for a kickwheel.
- Build Your Own Electric Wheel
- An Article from Ceramic Monthly.
Specialized Wheel Throwing Books on Amazon
Throwing American Style Raku Pottery (for the beginner)
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Amazon Price: $29.99 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $29.99
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Ken Ferguson: Talking with the Wheel
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Potter's Wheel Projects
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Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $9.95
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Kids 'n' Clay Ceramics Book: Handbuilding And Wheel-throwing Projects From
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Amazon Price: $21.24 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $27.95
In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
Want To Know More?
- May The Kiln Goddess Smile Upon You
- Here is the Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit, it is a central hub for all things related to working with clay. Here you will find links to other lenses on clay art, pottery, techniques and tutorials and other good stuff. Have fun.
Great Clay Gear on CafePress
Suggestions and Feedback
I welcome your feedback. Would you like something added? Know a good link or book? Did I manage to misspell something? Did you find a dead link? Let me know, afterall this Kiln Goddess isn't all knowing ;-)
Lexi
I used to throw miniature porcelain pots on a Brent wheel, great for all the reasons you mentioned in your intro. One particularly stressful week I threw pots to calm myself and did 800 in that week!
Nice lens!
Lexi
Posted March 11, 2008
FESA
Wow, it sounds like quite a process to get from the raw material to the finished product, but you sure make it sound like fun! There'd be so much pride in the end piece (something you create yourself) and I imagine it would be great for stress reduction too! Thanks for the all the resources. Fran
Posted September 01, 2007
oniyagi
awesome lens, takes me back to the great fun I had with clay in art class. Of course, like most teenage gamers, I moved on to super skulpey... but nothing beats the fun I had using the wheel!
Posted October 16, 2006
Look who made this lens!
KilnGoddess
The Kiln Goddess is an artist/potter. She loves working in clay as well as metals, mosaics, and nearly all mediums she tries. She especially loves wheel throwing and... more
What's here
- Wheel Throwing
- Preparing the Clay
- Getting Started
- Centering
- Basic Pottery Tools for Wheel Throwing from Dick Blick
- More...
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