Kettle-Style Pottery: Throwing the Knob

Video Transcript

"So, once that little ball of clay is smushed on there really well you want to get your fingers wet enough to get this knob wet. But, so that it's not dripping down. You don't want the water to drip down along the edge of the lid. Because, it could fuse it to the area where the lid is resting. And, you don't want that to happen. So, now I'm throwing this. I'm doing the same thing where my left fingers are doing stabilization. My right fingers are centering this lump of clay. I'm trying not to use too much water. Again, so that it doesn't drip down into that lid area. And, now once that's pretty close to on center you can go ahead and take your right thumb and push in to create a little bit of a stem for that knob. I'm pushing down with my left hand to flatten the top of the knob. Because, remember this teapot is going to have an over the top handle and I'm going to want to be able to touch down with my finger and hold that lid in place as I pour. So, I'll give a little bit of an indentation to the top of the knob. Now, once your lid has been trimmed and your knob has been thrown you no longer need your teapot to be connected to the bat. So, you can go ahead and take your wire tool and cut it off. So, this can set aside and wait to attach the spout and the handle."