I don’t know what I can write about actually throwing as it seems to be a skill that is largely down to individual preferences/ways of working, so until I have tried lots of ways of working, I will leave that bit out! Things I learned:
You need a clay which is plastic (or flexible!)
The clay needs to be ‘wedged’ and portioned before working.
It is essential that the clay is centred before trying to pull up the sides, otherwise it will be thicker on one side that the other, twist easily and just generally make a rubbish pot!
The base should be 0.5 – 1cm thich – check with your thumb tip or a needle.
when ‘pulling up’, you aren’t actually pulling – you are squeezing your fingers together, keeping them the same distance apart and moving them slowly upwards. Make sure you don’t pull your hands towards your body as you lift – this will also ruin your pot!
To get the pot off, use the wooden tool to create a little dent for the wire to go into, then splash water on your wheel in front of the pot to enable it to slide, push the wire down against the wheel behind your pot and move it towards you, keeping it as flush to the wheel as you can. Do this in one movement – don’t wire twice. gently move onto a board and cover in plastic to dry slowly.
clairemaloney 