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Summary: Wedging and centering the clay for a Santa Fe style pot ensures a symmetrical finished piece. Learn how to center your clay on the potter's wheel with tips from a master potter in this free ceramics video.
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
Ceramics are art works made out of clay bodies that harden with the application of heat. Originating in Chinese, Cretan, Greek, Roman, and Mayan cultures, ceramics have a long history that dates back to the third millennium BC. Pottery was used to create food and water jars, decorative bowls, sacred urns, and religious idols. Potters most traditionally use their hands, but several tools have been developed to aid in the ceramic making process, including the potter's wheel. Ceramics range from functional vessels to decorative sculptures, and remain both a long loved craft as well as a fine art. A functional and decorative piece is the Santa Fe style pot. This pot has a narrow base and widens at the belly with a narrow opening. It is a great beginner's project to learn pottery techniques like collaring and shaping. In this free instructional ceramics video series, learn about the tools you need, as well as clay preparation techniques. Find out how easy it is to get started on the potter's wheel making uniquely handmade pieces of art and function.
"Ok now I want to make a kind of a Santa Fe style pot. Those are the ones that like they come out the bottom and they come in like that; usually there hand built, coil built and then after they set up you take a stone to it and you varnish it up real nice and you make it; make it real shiny. So we're going to start by not coil building it because I got this wheel here and you want to start by thinning your clay, alright. Pull it up; pull it all the way up like it's a stalagmite growing from your wheel head, you can even go bigger if you want; alright. Then you want to come down; lock your hands, lock your legs; lock your arms and your legs and power down on it and all the while you're wheel wedging and you're centering your piece of clay. Come down and Karate chop it with your hand, just like that; alright. And when you're throwing pots it's kind of a little bit more important to make sure that it's nice and centered; from little stuff it's, it's alright to throw off center but if you're going to throw a pot it's going to really be a pain if it's not centered correctly. And there it is; it's centered."
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