A Guide to starting pottery, Part 1 of 4
Like painting, pottery is a vast subject and I have made a six hour, two disc, set of films showing and demonstrating all I can. Here I will share with you some of that and am sure it will help and inspire you to make a start; if you want more then by all means contact me?
Firstly, see my page already on here giving you a foundation and glossary of pottery terms, methods and materials, please?
Most clay changes and becomes pottery at over 500 degrees centigrade. Even in a bonfire! There are three basic clays – earthenware (usually red but not always, and low firing); stoneware (usually grey and made artificially); and porcelain (usually white and artificial; high firing) Here is a pot made out of red and white clays marbled together, similar on the right plus a stoneware pot next to it.
OK, once you have chosen the type of clay you wish to use you need to prepare it. Even if it is directly from the bag it may be inconsistent and so you will find it necessary to kneed it. There are three ways to do this. With a big lump; the spiral Japanese method; or to slice it with a cheese wire thumping the parts down on each other over again – but we will use the "ox head" method. With this you grip the ball of clay each side in your palms just letting the fingers come around the form and push it away from you onto a table. This becomes the nose of the ox, with short horns in your hands. Keep your hands pushing in each side and do not bring them on top, or long horns will appear and you will lose it! Roll the clay back a half turn towards you and keep repeating it bringing the inside of the ball to the outside that way and eventually mixing all!
Teapot
It is said that a test of being able to throw a pot ( the term given to making a pot on the wheel, possibly due to throwing the first lump of clay onto the wheel ) is to be able to make a tea pot! So let me start with that and then I will proceed to give you knowledge and a foundation to all the basics.
To make a tea pot you have to be able to throw a cylinder, and from those cylinders make the body, spout, and lid. Plus learn how to make or “pull” a handle. So we had better start with how to throw? Throw your kneeded ball of clay onto the dry wheel centre (even that’s not so easy). Wet both hands and set the wheel to its fastest anti clock wise, then cup your hands each side of the clay, making sure that your arms are resting solidly on the wheel bowl edges for support! Close your hands together, forcing the clay up in between; make sure that your hands do not move in and out with lumpy clay – YOU MUST ALWAYS BE THE BOSS!! Make sure your hands remain well lubricated. If you hold the clay central, and hands still, then the column of clay has no choice but to come up and be centered. Place your left hand over the top of the clay while your right hand remains on the outside. Push down with your left hand steadying and gently pushing with your right. Repeat this over and again until the clay is absolutely central or “centered” and the shape of a dome.
If you prefer to push down with your right hand that’s also fine!
Next, and ONLY when the clay is centered ( don’t worry if this takes a long time to learn–it’s a bit like riding a bike, suddenly comes, but it’s vital ) feel for the centre of the clay with your thumbs and then push both thumb tips into the centre almost down to the bottom. ( finding how deep comes with practice, at first you may have no pot base ) Remember keep your arms on the wheel base sides all of the time, and your hands wet!
Next you have to learn the position for your fingers to pinch up a ring of clay from the base of the pot and draw it upwards in an even spiral. Note the position above left plus the cross section; you are “pulling up” of the wall. Once again, keep your arms on the wheel side, lubricated hands and draw an even spiral up between your fingers from pinching a ring at the base upwards. DO NOT PINCH OFF AT THE TOP! Keep your fingers evenly spaced right all the way up and off – if you come upwards evenly and steadily the clay has no option but to move ahead of you. For pulling up have the wheel VERY slow.
The taller and larger the cylinder is that you can make, then the larger the pot. All wheel-thrown pottery, mugs, jugs, bowls are all made from cylinders. Once you have the cylinder then you may shape it by gently drawing out the belly from the inside. By holding two fingers each side of the rim with one hand, and pushing down inside with one finger of the other you can make a lid rim. Above right the teapot spout is made, but with no base at all!
The lid is thrown upside down like a bowl and measured to fit with calipers.
Once the base is “leather hard” (hard enough to hold and not dent, but still damp ) it may be inverted and “turned” (held on the wheel by small lumps of clay and lathed down with a sharp turning tool) above left. The lid may then also be turned and leaving a small projection for the lid handle you may add a small ball of clay and throw that up into a miniature bowl, thus creating the handle.
Mark where you require the spout and drill holes into the body where you wish the tea to exit. Making sure that the spout tip will be above the water level, trim the spout to fit as well as the tip, then glue it in with the same liquid clay as the pot (called "slip").
