Pottery - How to Center Clay on the Wheel
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- čas přidán 13. 04. 2010
- Click 'subscribe' to know when I post new videos. I'm sorry I can't easily respond to comments left on youtube. Please direct question to my Facebook page Evolution Stoneware Pottery or email me through my website www.EvolutionStoneware.com. This is an instructional pottery video on how to center clay on the potters wheel by Janis Hughes in the Evolution Stoneware Pottery studio. Check out www.evolutionstoneware.com for my 3 hour "Custom Clay Pottery Tools" video series and go to Evolution Stoneware Pottery on Facebook. Thanks for watching and click 'like' (if you do).
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I am so excited. I just tried this technique and for the first time in two years is centered the clay in seconds. Thank you so much! It's one of those very basic things that can just kill a piece and I was so frustrated.
YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY BROOOOO😭
Loved your simple effective demo ...very easy to follow
Believe me, it's just from years, and years, and years of practice. Every time you do it you get a little better. I hope the video helps a bit. There are a lot of ways to center, but this is what works for me.
Such a skill……………..not done this since back in School. Use to enjoy 😊 pottery class 👍
So for some people it helps to think about it as maintaining your position regardless of how hard the clay is pushing for that instant. You are resisting the push back of the clay. It may push hard one instant and less the next if it is out of round. If you use the same force the whole time, your hand will just follow the rocking of the uneven clay (the butter churning movement). You want to stay steady and get the clay to conform to your position to keep it round and center it.
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This is definitely one of the best videos I've seen on centering! She doesn't go too fast, she explains things well, and it's generally just very helpful. To everyone out there who needs help with centering I would also recommend watching "help! I can't center". These two videos really helped me pass my ceramics class.
You have NO idea how much this helps me. I'm in an intermediate/advanced class in my high school because I have a lot of experience handbuilding. However, I can't center. At all. Hopefully this will help me tomorrow in class. Thank you!
Thank you for showing your fingers and where there they are positioned. As a ceramic student with smaller hands and it was very difficult for me to get enough pressure without my fingers touching today, now I know its ok to do that.
That’s exactly my problem small hands 😭
Thanks for responding. Idid try it left handed , as you did, but ended up right handed. Anyway the process works great in a standing position. Thanks
I've been watching videos on how to center clay for the last hour this by far is the most helpful thank you.
omg you make coning look so effortless! every time i do it it takes me forever
Thanks! I've been looking for a video to help me centre for a while now. Yours is the best!
Thank you so much! I'm on my 3rd pottery wheel class and have had trouble centering. Your directions were perfect. Can't wait to try them out today at the studio.
I remember doing this stuff back at School in England..............great memories. Not touched clay or a wheel since. Which is a shame because it was enjoyable. But them other things got in the way.
amogus!
This is so incredibly helpful. Thank you so much
Excellent explanation! Centering is what I struggle with the most. This has been helpful. Thank you!
I'm a potter and pottery teacher too, and I really admire your descriptions and step by step instruction. Thank you and may the kiln gods favor you!
Wow that is great. I would love to see you throw that bottle too.
This is hard to explain in words, but I'll try. Think of the right hand as trying to maintain it's position regardless of how hard the clay is pushing against it. You are applying inward pressure on the clay pushing toward the center of the bat, but it's almost more of a resistance. When people think push, they tend to think of using the same amount of force the whole time. But if the clay is uneven, you need to push harder for part of the revolution of the wheel.
That pot was really nice. Thanks for the VoD.
Thanks Craig! :)
You make it look so easy, I feel like I'm trying to move a boulder.
Oh Dawn, don't feel bad! It takes a lot of practice. I hope some of the explanation in this video will help you. Wedging the clay well will help loosen it up and make it more responsive and pliable on the wheel. Throwing is like surfing. It looks natural and easy when you're watching someone with a lot of experience, but learning how to do it requires a lot of practice, building up your coordination, and developing a 'feel' for it. Keep trying, and you'll get it! It's totally normal for it to be hard at first.
AWESOME!!!! I've been doing it for like 5 years, and just took it back up a week ago and centering the clay has always been the hardest for me, but your tutorial will hopefully help me in a couple days.
Thanks.
Keep the videos coming. Really good demo.
Beautiful, you make it look so easy. Thank you.
Then I use my right index finger as a tool, controlling it by the grip of my left three fingers and pulling that extended right finger outward from the center. As I'm pulling outward, the wall tries to rise and sharpen. I use the right thumb to become the "retaining wall" (love that image, Janis!) to keep the lip rounded and contained.
I'm going to try coning, the traditional way of centering takes forever.
You reall helped me out thanks
I'm so glad it helped!!! Keep going. It gets easier with practice. You can do it.
You're welcome! I'm so glad to hear that this helped. Happy potting to you!
Your technique is so beautiful! Thanks for posting!
I used to be good at throwing in highschool (when my teacher was buisy, I taught the advanced ceramics kids on throwing xD) but its been afew years and of coarse now I have a treddle....can't center. I'm glad I found your video!
This was so helpful! You got right to the point and you explained it so well.
@nose4real I'll add this to my list of ideas for future videos. I'd center a little more than half of it like I do in this video, then I'd smack the rest of the clay on top. I'd pat the new clay to center it as much as possible, then cone and compress the whole thing as before.
Thank you, I am learning to throw standing and those tip are very helpful.
I start out using Janis' tandem thumb approach, but depending on size of clay mass, do something different. The thumbs enter and push into the clay only to the desired thickness of the floor (and that depends upon whether the foot will be trimmed deeply, or just a shallow little bit, or just rolled as in the production foot with no trimming at all.
After I've reached my desired floor thickness, I grab my right index finger with the uppermost pads of the first three fingers of my left hand.
Hi Sherry - It's great to hear that this helped. Thanks for your note.
Thank you
very insightful technique, that I will take it to heart.
Awesome video! Its been a while since I've done any throwing so its a good refresher
I typically do wedge my clay. You don't *have* to if it is commercially processed clay right out of the bag. But I usually do.
Thank you so much this was really helpful!
@NonDoormat Oh, wow, that's great to hear! Thanks for letting me know. Best of luck with your throwing.
I've been to my 4th pottery class today and I really can't get the clay to center. My teacher has a different method that requires centering the full lump of clay, which I find very difficult. I will try this technique. Thank you so much for sharing!
SO helpful. Thank you! :)
I'm really glad it helped! Hope you make lots of great pots! 😊
It looks so easy when I watch it and then when I try it I end up with a crooked asymmetrical flop of a "mug" 😂
Keep going! Throwing is hard to learn and takes a LOT of practice. It's like learning to play an instrument. Stick with it. You can do it. 🙂
@@EvolutionStoneware thanks so much for the encouragement! My husband just bought me a wheel and I'm so excited to keep practicing! Even if my stuff is floppy right now 😂 your videos are so helpful, thank you!
good video feed...thanks mucho
@TheAbstractview Thank you so much! I'm really glad you found it helpful :)
@earthfaemama I stacked up some cinder blocks on their sides (2 high) and sat the wheel on top of them. It's been very sturdy for a few years now. I hope you like it if you decide to raise your wheel. :)
This was super helpful. Thank you for making his video. 😊
You're very welcome! I'm really glad to hear it helped. Hope you make lots of great pots in the coming days. :)
@dewinter42 I'm so glad this helped! Learning to center can be terribly frustrating.
Thank you so much
@SillyKinkajoo There are several different approaches to opening the clay. I like to rest the palms of both of my hands on either side of the centered clay, find the middle, and press in with both of my thumbs. I find this more stable than using one finger. Keeping your hands resting on the outside helps to stay centered. And make sure you keep the clay wet in the hole as you push in. If your thumbs are sticking, it will get out off center. Check out my other videos to see how I open.
That was great, thanks.....
Have you ever thrown a bird bath? Would love to see how it's done...
@shanetoons I'm finally getting this video done. I hope it's not too late for you. The bowl is thrown and trimmed. Tomorrow I'll decorate it, and I'll get the video up as soon as I can.
Thank you for posting this. Very helpful.
I'm glad it helped! :) Thanks for your note.
@TheTypoGoddess I hope it's going better for you now! Thanks for dropping me a note. :)
THANKS SOOO MUCH
Little Loafers cone 6 white stoneware from Highwater Clays
@GimmeYourCookies I use a ^6 white stoneware called Little Loafer from Highwater Clay. It's very smooth with no grog.
Thisis a great video - thank you for the tips. I do have a question. Some of my bats seem a little unlevel. Would this have an effect on the centering process?
Thanks for posting this! Gonna try some of these tricks in my ceramics class next time. :)
I hope it helps! It's good to try different techniques and use what works best for you.
I made a decent tea cup!
+Tammy Beebe That's so awesome! Yayyyy! I'm glad you told me. Keep on going!
Belos produtos !😀
It can be so frustrating learning how to center. Stick with it because I promise you the fun of throwing is worth the pain in the beginning. I know you know, but generally people really don't understand at all how hard it is because it looks so simple until you try it.
@daonethtlks I have a Shimpo RK Whisper. I love it! I've been using it for about 8 or 9 years, and it's been great.
What did you put your wheel on to raise it up for standing? Great video!
*_* I can't wait to go to my ceramics class tomorrow, its been too long
I was wondering if you could also make a vase on the wheel and how to make a vase please
I'll definitely add that to my list for future videos Brandon. 🙂
I like to open the middle of the clay using my 2 thumbs side by side, but some people prefer to steady their right hand with their left and press into the middle of the clay with their pointer or middle finger.
Curious… are you right or left handed. Great video! I also throw standing and have had some trouble adjusting. Thanks
I'm right handed. But I do a lot of non-pottery things with my left hand like eating and using a computer mouse due to nerve pain in my right hand.
do u wedge the clay before throwing it on the wheel?
You are very good at it
So your right hand does not push inward at all? it simply acts as a brick wall while your left hand pushes down?
Great explanation! Thank you!
Thank you Janet! I hope it helps. :) I originally made this for a small group of students, and it's kind of amazing how many people it has reached over time. I'm humbled by it and just hope that it makes centering easier for folks.
Help! I'm in a ceramics class, and I can get the clay into a centered pillar, but whenever I press down it turns into a lopsided, off-center mess. Do you have any tidbits of wisdom you can pass along?
Facts
Oh... it looks so easy when you do it. Ok, so I had a go at your centering technique but it didn't really work for me. I found it very difficult to create such a tall cone and once I had one (not as tall as yours), when I pushed it back down I got a mushroom shape : /
I told my teacher about your technique but he said it was to get the clay a bit softer... is that so?
I did manage to center it one time (out of the 5 attempts). Hope next week will be better.
@waichita What is the weight of clay that you are trying to center? You might want to check out some of my most recent videos to see how I normally center in real time when I'm making a pot as opposed to this slowed down approach where I break down each step.
@shanetoons I'm slammed right now with orders and getting ready for holiday shows, but I'll try to make you a bowl video before Thanksgiving. I think if you subscribe to my channel with that subscribe button you'll get an email update when I post new videos. That might be an easy way to keep track. As far as decoration to not look plain, are you most concerned about the inside or outside of the bowl? Or both?
Which kind of clay did you use?
Magical! I am going to do this now! :D
what type of wheel do you use?
what is an easy way to break into the clay?
Hi how much did the ceramic wheel cost?
nice demo,,,,
Thank you Jim!
@waichita I really hope this helps you out! Good luck, and let me know how it goes.
I am confuse are we to make that hole ? I thought that will cause a mushroom???
The first time I threw and was centering I put it to fast and it want down all the way and I was in class and it flew across the room and my bucket full of water split I was so embarrassed :( then I tired again a few days letter and I was a natural at it i was one of the fastest centers in clay one (;
What kind of clay is this?
@TheRappin12 It was 3 pounds of white stoneware clay.
@iabLee91 I'm glad it was hepful!
Is it possible that I could be getting air bubbles in my clay when I'm making the tall cone/tower when centering? I'm wedging my clay before I throw it, but then when I make the cone, I get cracking at the top right before I close the cone and start to bring it down to center. After that, I will sometimes here bubbles popping when I'm beginning to lift the walls of the bowl. Help! Where are these bubbles coming from?
Angela Monteith it sounds like you are raising the outside of the clay & creating a cavity or opening in the middle when you cone up. There are a few things you can try. You will need to adjust your coning technique. Perhaps try using more water. Or try coning a bit from the top third, then move down to squeeze up the middle third to match the top, and then squeeze the bottom. It's possible you'll need to squeeze harder in general in your coning. The goal is not to pull up the outer wall like when you're actually making a pot. You want to squeeze the clay toward the middle so that it has no where to go but up. This is a bit hard to explain with only words. You'll need to experiment with adjusting your technique until you get the clay to rise up as a pillar when you cone without creating a significant cavity in the middle to trap air. I hope this helps!
I'll try it. Thanks for your feedback and suggestions!
That's a nice quiet wheel. Can you share the brand name?
I use a Shimpo RK Whisper wheel. It is almost silent. They have another very quite model that I think is called the VS Whisper.
@sadiejimenezr I'm a righty. While I'm pretty handy with my left side too, but I'm not totally ambidextrous.
u are epic
how much was that 1
How did you raise your wheel? Oh boy, my back is killing me. I appreciate your demonstration.
Hi Martha, I'm genuinely sorry about your back, and I understand. Raising my wheel helped my back so much, I would never go back unless I couldn't stand! Anyway, I laid to large cinder blocks (the gray ones) on their side stacked on top of each other under the feet of my wheel. It's a good height for me. I'm 5'6". You can experiment with bricks, blocks, or papers to get the right height. Email me through my website www.evolutionstoneware.com or send me a note on Facebook if you want pictures of my setup.
two cinder blocks stacked, sorry for the 'to' typo.
geez, pavers not papers - oy, autocorrect!
does it feel funny when the wheel is going around :)
ha me too!
hardest thing in the world.
Are you left handed or right handed Janice