Ceramic Vase Clay Compression

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Part of the video series: Ceramic Vase Throwing on a Potter's Wheel

Summary: Compress the clay in the ceramic vase foot to prevent cracking in the future. Learn how to compress clay with tips from a master potter in this free ceramics video.

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Presenter

By C. Laura Irmis
eHow Presenter

C. Laura Irmis of Saltwater Ceramics had worked in the graphic design industry for over 10 years when she realized her creative passion needed to expand. In the midst of finishing her...read more

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Video Transcript

"So, now I've got the height that we want for the vase. And we want to make sure everything is pretty even, looking centered. So, now I want to work on the foot on the inside. We want to make sure that all of the clay is compressed, so that we don't have any problems in the future. So I can use this tool or a steadier tool that's harder with wood or the metal, but honestly since we've got a pretty big vase I'm going to use this tool and use this edge to press down on the floor of the vase. So, you start light, in the center and move out to the edge, that increases the pressure. Get rid off the clay on the edge that happens. Little bit of water, not too much, so you don't want the water to sit on the foot of your piece. Try it again, because this will help a lot with cracking down the road, it's very common for the bottom of your pieces to have cracks and this is one of the preventions. Alright, that looks good. Next step is going to be working on the outside top edge."