Pottery Tools

Series Summary

There are many different methods for making things out of clay, but throwing pots on the potter's wheel is probably the most well known. The potter's wheel can be used to make pretty much any ceramic pot that comes to mind. In fact it is a great tool for making ceramic mugs. True though it is that these days pottery is mass produced, it is the prerogative of the ceramic artist to create unique pottery art and cultivate skills necessary to do so. Throwing a ceramic mug on the potter's wheel gives the artist the freedom to choose the exact size and shape, and it is easier than you might think - all you need is some expert tutelage.

In this free video series, learn how to make ceramic mugs from expert potter Emily Owen. Emily will demonstrate how to wedge clay to remove air bubbles, how to center clay on the potter's wheel, how to open clay on the potter's wheel, how to pull clay on the potter's wheel, how to prepare clay for throwing off the hump, how to use a clay extruder, and how to pull a handle on a clay mug. Learning all these techniques will help you make your own unique ceramic mug. Happy throwing!

Video Transcript

"Ok today we're going to do some throwing and before you get started with your throwing you need to gather a few things together. First of all you probably want to put on an apron because you can get pretty messy doing this. Secondly, you want to get a bucket and you want to fill it with water. It doesn't matter what kind of bucket this is. You want to get a couple of sponges. It's important to have more than one in there because you might drop one or one might get really dirty and you want to throw it in there without having to clean it before you move on. You also want to have a variety of tools. You want to have some ribs, these are hard items that you use to compress the wall of the clay. They work a lot better than your hand alone. You can get the clay a lot thinner and a lot smoother using these kinds of tools. You might probably want to have some flat ones and a curved one as well. This can help doing bowls and forms that curve out as well. You really need to have a needle tool. This helps you determine the depth of the bottom of your pot. When you first start throwing it's very important to learn how thick the bottom needs to be because you might cut it off and then you cut a hole straight through your pot."