Pulling Up the Wall to Make Pottery Bowls

Video Transcript

"The next part is the best part it is when you pull up the wall of the clay. So the whole process that I'm doing here is called throwing the pot I really don't know why it is called throwing the pot. In this particular section is called pulling up the wall. The way that I'm going to start this is by again my hands are going to kind of squeeze the clay like this, fingers are in the inside, thumb is on the outside starting at the very bottom. I like to think of this is as a lobster claw or a crab claw the way that I squeeze it. So I'm going to squeeze that together, my sponge stays on the top and the clay is going to rise up. That would be the first pull of the bowl and I will continue doing that a couple of more times before I start shaping it. The second pull I would start down with my sponge down on the back, fingers are facing down and then I push my fingers to the wall of the clay and you can see how it creates a little budge here. That is really important so you don't get a heavy bottom on your pot, you squeeze the bottom in and then you pull that lump through the pot. It rises up and as you pull it through your lighting your pressure as you go. One of the common mistakes that students make is that they put a little bit too much pressure up here cause they start with a hard pressure down here and they continue it and the pot will rip off at this point right here. So when I pull I'm squeezing pretty hard down here, pushing my inside finger is out and I'm gradually letting the pressure go and pulling just outward a little bit more each time. So that is pulling the wall. "