Pinching Clay on the Potter's Wheel

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Part of the video series: Throwing Traditional Japanese Pottery On the Wheel

Summary: Begin to shape a clay bowl on the wheel by pinching the clay from the bottom up. Learn how to pinch clay from the bottom up in this free ceramics video.

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By Chris Cook
eHow Presenter

Chris Cook received a BFA in ceramics and sculpture from Southern Oregon University where he studied raku, studio ceramics, stoneware, and various firing techniques under Jim Romberg....read more

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Video Transcript

"Okay so I'm ready to pull this guy, throw it, pinch it, get it up in the air. Whatever you want to call it. Here I go. I'm pinching the bottom right now really, and by pinching the bottom I'm also pushing down on the top, and when I'm doing that I'm pulling clay from the bottom of the piece up to the top, but I'm also pressing down on the top of the rim to ensure that that doesn't crack during the firing process. It's really important that you do that. It's just as important as compressing the bottom because it's going to line up all the molecules of the clay to where they're all on the same page and they're not going to try to slip away from each other and cause a hairline crack that later down the road, when you fire it up to twenty three hundred degrees Fahrenheit, turn into a big crack through thermal expansion. So from here we just have a couple pulls and a couple pokes with the rib and we'll have our rice bowl."