85. Beginners Guide to Wheel Throwing - Ceramics for Beginners

This a Beginners Guide to Wheel Throwing. If you neve tried use a Potters Wheel, are new to it or a just struggling to get it right - then this beginners wheel throwing course is right for you.

I will take you through everything - from the kind of pottery wheel you can use, the different kinds of clay - and which one may be easiest for you to start with, how to wedge it and then the 4 universal steps of throwing pottery on the wheel:

1: Centering the clay
2: Opening the clay ball
3: Pulling the clay
4: Shaping your pot

And as a bonus I will also show you how you can optionally trim your pottery on the potters wheel.

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INDEX:

00:00 Introduction to Wheel Throwing
00:57 Two things you need to Throw on the Potters Wheel
01:28 Manual or electric Pottery Wheel
04:00 The basic tools for Wheel Throwing Pottery
04:27 Wheel throwing on a bat
05:42 The best clay for Wheel Throwing (for beginners)
09:37 Wedging the clay
13:17 Using bats - or not
13:48 Preparing your wheel for the clay
14:06 Placing the clay on the wheel
14:31 The 4 steps of Wheel Throwing
15:01 Step 1: How to center the clay on the Potters Wheel
19:52 Step 2: How to open the clay ball
24:00 Step 3: Pulling the clay - getting the right height
30:14 Step 4: How to shape the pot
36:10 How to wire off and remove your finished pot
37:20 When is your pot ready for (optional) trimming?
39:06 Should or can you trim the inside of a bowl?
39:53 Trimming the outside of the bowl
42:50 Using a shiny stone to burnish the rim
43:55 Turning the bowl for trimming a foot
44:28 Centering the leather hard bowl for trimming the foot
45:24 Securing the bowl on the wheel before trimming
46:16 Trimming a foot on the Potters Wheel
58:07 Perfecting the shape of your pot
59:12 Adding a makers mark - or signature
1:00:19 Ready to dry
1:01:21 Inconclusion - the next steps

[theteachhubeditor]

Thank you so much. I loved your video - it was so helpful.

[ClaytonMogle]

I realy thought this video was great. I did ceramics 18 years ago but the studio closed and i have not been able to do pottery since. I am buying a kiln and teaching my grandson throwing pots. Watching the video brought back the little things i need to teach him. THANK YOU

[tiffanyinman]

Thank you sir! You are now my first pottery instructor. Whatever 20 minutes I had on a wheel at 11 years old doesn’t count. Ha! Can’t wait to throw my first pot 🎉🎉

[covideovid]

Excellent video. I did ceramics at college for three years and never threw a pot, was never show how... I've been to a local community centre to just "try" it after a 30 year break. Your video explained so much of what went wrong with my efforts. I managed to create and destroy four pots in two hours but their flaws made them impossible to finish. You are a great teacher. Thank you

[EmiEmi-isui]

Very nice beginners guide! Thank you for sharing!

[solrcc]

Is your batt 12mm ply? Great tutorial, thank you for posting this!

[henrikkrebs]

One og many 'Beginners Guide. This one is very good and comprehensive.

Grog af size 0.2% 😀

[theresawarren]

I like "I promise you, it will" because I'm on the verge of crying, but I'm going to keep going. Thankyou