Oddbean

I’ve been doing pottery for years, but as a sculptor and handbuilder. Throwing on the wheel is a lot tougher than it looks, and I’ve never been good at it. A class spot finally opened up at my studio and yesterday was my first class with my awesome new teacher. She has started me with the very basics and has been sharing cheat code after cheat code. As a result, yesterday I threw FOUR bowls! This is an unprecedented success 😁 I think I can actually get the hang of this! #pottery #clay #ceramics #art #wrensnest #neverstoplearning #grownostr https://image.nostr.build/9486a037e93ca08dbcbf657da4fc53b38c78e8e30350fc0d08371b13a2c34084.jpg

I always find the term "throwing" amusing since I figure it came to be used because the first person to try it got pissed off and someone saw a lump of clay flying at a wall and asked an assistant what's going on and they were told "oh, the Potter is throwing bowls."

I thiiink it came from the normal way to center clay, wherein you throw a lump of clay forcefully and magically hit the center of the wheel perfectly and with enough force that the clay will stick when you start to spin and mess with it I cannot do this 😂 and my teacher just taught me a method that works better for me 💃 Other potters let me know if I’m wrong in my etymology! @BitcoinPotter @tyson

according to google, it's because the old english word "thrawan" meant to twist or turn, and was used to describe making pottery because the wheelhead turns round and round. the common meaning of "throw" (the derivative of "thrawan") has changed in modern english, but the "throw" is apparently still being used to describe the making of pottery. so basically it's an etymology thing Like you @The Beave, I would have guessed that the reason it was called throwing literally involved flying clay. Once somebody who was throwing next to me didn't lock down his bat down correctly to the wheelhead and the piece flew off a remarkable distance, passing just above my piece and below my nose.

Here’s the centering tips I remember from last week: If you have trouble with clay drying out too much as you’re wedging, wet the surface slightly with a sponge and then wait for it to dry, then wedge. Make a teardrop shape from your lump of clay and jam the point on the center of the wheel. It doesn’t have to be thrown. Whack it into the center and whack it down firmly in place. Press down the edge of the lump all around, making a “ruffly skirt” sealed to the wheel. Wet a finger and press between the lump and the edge of the skirt, rotating the wheel to seal. After this point, never touch clay unless wheel is in motion. Wheel should turn in the direction dominant hand points. No need to wedge elbows any particular place, but keep hands as still as possible on clay as wheel rotates to make it even more centered. Patience is key. “Let the wheel do the work.” Coning is important, it forces air bubbles into the center so they go away as you open up. Use a finger to make a groove at the bottom of the lump. Pinkies go here; alternate pulling the clay upward and pressing it together until you make a tall cone. Point of cone goes in palm of dominant hand, whose fingers go down the side of the cone. Supporting hand palm touches clay and fingers support dominant hand fingers. Dominant hand pulls cone down gently and wheel pulls the clay in to center. “Let the wheel do the work.” There’s a little subtlety of positioning to this I find it hard to describe verbally. Now you can make things!

@mutatrum did the tips help? I hate to say that the very next week I tried throwing and failed miserably 😂 the class was about trimming (did fine at that) but throwing unsupervised after class … 👎 Next time I’m there for class I should be able to troubleshoot.

She didn't go to class yet. I let her read the note and I think most of the tips she already knew. I'll come back after the next lesson. What I hear from her it's hit and miss, sometimes it's an hour long struggle and nothing works, and sometimes it's perfectly centered in 30 seconds.