Using a Pottery Wheel: Centering the Clay
Part of the Video Series How to Make Pottery
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Video Transcript
Using a Pottery Wheel: Centering the Clay
On behalf of expertvillage.com, my name is Mark Coy and we are here getting ready to center some clay on our vat in preparation of throwing a pot. So we've moistened out vat, we've stuck our clay down, we get our hands all soggy and we get our clay wet because you need good lubrication; otherwise, you end up pulling the whole thing off the wheel and remember that the only thing that is holding the clay to the wheel is the suction of the water and the wet clay. I'm right handed and I don't think it has that much to do with which hand you are, which way you turn the wheel. It is more your preference. I am actually going to take my ring off. Don't tell my wife but it digs in the clay makes a mess. So yeah if your watch isn't water proof, you might want to do that too. You get a little messy in this process. So as we want to center this piece of clay it is not about pulling it sideways or trying to push it with both hands, I am really just using this hand and just about this much of it and I've got my hand hooked into my leg and my leg and my shoulder are all kind of moving together. I'm kind of leaning on this hand to support myself. It gives me some stability but it is all about what is going on with this hand. I use the high speed on the wheel. The centrifugal force helps me. So here we go. You will notice that when it is centered we stop wobbling. So when it is out of whack it bounces all over and then it stops and then we know we are centered in the middle one with the clay.
On behalf of expertvillage.com, my name is Mark Coy and we are here getting ready to center some clay on our vat in preparation of throwing a pot. So we've moistened out vat, we've stuck our clay down, we get our hands all soggy and we get our clay wet because you need good lubrication; otherwise, you end up pulling the whole thing off the wheel and remember that the only thing that is holding the clay to the wheel is the suction of the water and the wet clay. I'm right handed and I don't think it has that much to do with which hand you are, which way you turn the wheel. It is more your preference. I am actually going to take my ring off. Don't tell my wife but it digs in the clay makes a mess. So yeah if your watch isn't water proof, you might want to do that too. You get a little messy in this process. So as we want to center this piece of clay it is not about pulling it sideways or trying to push it with both hands, I am really just using this hand and just about this much of it and I've got my hand hooked into my leg and my leg and my shoulder are all kind of moving together. I'm kind of leaning on this hand to support myself. It gives me some stability but it is all about what is going on with this hand. I use the high speed on the wheel. The centrifugal force helps me. So here we go. You will notice that when it is centered we stop wobbling. So when it is out of whack it bounces all over and then it stops and then we know we are centered in the middle one with the clay.
About the Expert
Expert: Mark Kooy has been teaching high school students how to work with ceramics and metals for over 20 years. Read More
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