by D. Kearney Sparano

Created on: March 22, 2009

When it comes to visual art giving tips through writing is a difficult proposition because of the lack of the key word "visual." So many tips and pointers must be related visually, there is no way around it. However this article is about successful tips and that's what you will get.

Now since you are reading this I will make a couple assumptions. 1) That you are interested in wheel throwing. 2) That you may be learning it now or have plans to learn it through a school, which I highly recommend. I learned to throw in college, and local community colleges are excellent places to learn more about artistic skills and techniques. 3) You are new to throwing, because if you have been throwing for 20 years and reading this, you will probably find nothing of use.

Ok now for the tips.

Youtube: A week ago I was assisting during a ceramics class and the professor was telling his students to watch videos on youtube. He said it is a God send and makes his job much easier these days. Also this helps me overcome the lack of a visual component that I mentioned earlier.

Make sure your clay is soft and pliable: If your clay is tough or as potters say "leather hard" you are in for a fight. This doesn't mean throw away the clay just that is isn't conducive to a beginner throwing at the wheel.

Use warm water: You will need a bucket filled with water when throwing. Make sure it is warm. Your hands will get cold quickly and you don't want to compound that by plunging your hand into ice cold water.

Don't let the clay boss you around: This is probably the most important tip I can share. You control the clay, not the other way around. If you look at the wheel as you are trying to center and your hands are wobbling all over the place, you are not in control. Steady your hands. Remember it is clay, you can and should be forceful and it likes it rough.

There is no one way: years ago my professor told me this and said if you met some one who claims there way is the only way, to walk away. I agree. You need to figure out how you throw and to do that you need to see how a lot of people throw. So I go back to tip 1, youtube.

Some final tips I will offer are these:

- When I center I focus on moving my hands and body toward the center of the wheel

- When I open generally I use my thumbs moving outward for cylinders. For a bowl I sue my right hand and pull towards myself.

- It is important to keep a constant distance between you fingers when pulling the wall of a cylinder.

- I like to throw with 2 sponges, one in each hand. I find this helps keep me from catching my hand on dry spots. Also it helps me keep the bottom of a bowl/cup/vessel smooth.

- After the vessel has been thrown and before I cut it off the bat I like to scrape my metal rib along the side of it. This helps remove water and shortens drying time.

Well good luck with your ceramic journey and here is most import tips of all: Stick with it, don't give up. You will get it

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