How to Center Clay on a Pottery Wheel

Video Transcript

"So you're going to make a teapot form that will have a bamboo handle on like this one here. And I'm going to start out by centering the clay and then opening it up and shaping it into that bulbous round form. This is two and three quarter pounds, that makes a nice size teapot. Anything from two and a half to three pounds is good. Remember with centering you're going to be pushing down always first to adhere it to the bat. Getting your elbow in your hip, pushing forward, raising it up and you see that wobble being raised up. I can crisscross right there as I raise up and start pushing it back down into the clay, into the center of the clay. Or I could take my right hand and push down and make sure that you're still pushing very hard from the back and then pushing down. OK, that is centered."