Tag Archives: first day

First Day of Throwing

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Welcome to your first day of throwing on the wheel! Well, not yet, but soon, you will be getting all sorts of goopey and gunky and dirty and … so fun! Here are a list of tools you may need today, so have them at the ready:

  • a bucket of water
  • a sponge
  • a bat
  • a wooden modeling tool
  • a needle tool
  • a wire/fishing line tool
  • an apron
  • definitely some lotion for your hands when you are finished
  • last, but definitely not least – PATIENCE & PERSEVERANCE

Watch this video from YouTube by Tim See. It’s the best video I’ve seen so far showing the most efficient way to center and pull your clay.

For the first day of throwing, I want you to work on centering and pulling a cylinder until it breaks. Once you do that, and if you still have time, pull more cylinders and cut them off the wheel head/bat and cut them in half with a wire/fishing line tool.  I want you to see the wall thickness so you know how thick or thin you are throwing your cylinders. It helps to know this so you can work on making them thinner or thicker depending on your results.

If you are having trouble centering, here’s another video by Tim See about centering clay:

If you are having trouble opening your piece, here’s another video by Tim See about that:

If you are having trouble pulling a wall, here’s another video by Tim See about those issues:

If you need or want more help, I highly suggest combing through Tim See’s YouTube channel videos. He still uploads new ones! https://www.youtube.com/user/timseepots/videos

Why call it throwing?  Here’s a great article on where that term “throwing” comes from. An excerpt from linked article:

“To throw. Potters at Marshall Pottery in Texas describe their work at the potters wheel as turning. They understand only the modern meaning of to throw and do not use it to describe their work. However, the Old English word thrawan from which to throw comes, means to twist or turn. Going back even farther, the Indo-European root *ter- means to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn. The German word drehen, a direct relative of to throw, means turn and is used in German for throwing. Because the activity of forming pots on the wheel has not changed since Old English times, the word throw has retained its original meaning in the language of pottery but has developed a completely different meaning in everyday usage. Those who say they throw pots are using the historically correct term. Those who say they turn pots are using more current language. Both are saying the same thing.”