Wheel Throwing Techniques

Throwing on the potter’s wheel can either be addictive or frustrating. If you are just starting out and need to ease your frustrations, try watching Jennifer Allen’s Fundamentals of Wheel Throwing video. Jennifer covers the basics of wedging and centering clay to making basic forms on the pottery wheel. If you have been struggling to conquer the pottery wheel, or want to know what throwing is all about, Jennifer’s instruction in this video is exactly what you need.

For the more advanced potter, we’ve got you covered too! Michael Kline demonstrates the traditional Catawba Valley pottery style of swirlware which combines contrasting clay bodies. Looking to add more movement and gesture to your pottery? Nick Joerling combines handbuilding and wheel throwing to achieve his signature animated pottery.

Throwing pots on the wheel isn’t just about making the form, it is also about finishing it too. Trimming is an important part of working on the wheel. Mike Jabbur demonstrates how to trim pottery on a chuck. His wavy-rimmed pots proved challenging to trim directly on the wheel-head, so Mike found the perfect solution with a simple throwing chuck. Some artists, like Forrest Lesch-Middelton decorate their pots while throwing on the wheel! By transferring pattern and imagery onto the exteriors and interiors of the clay, Forrest ends up with beautiful, volumetric image-heavy wheel thrown pottery. If you’re looking for instruction and inspiration for traditional and non-traditional wheel throwing techniques, then you’ve come to the right place. The possibilities are endless for a tool that really does one thing (spins in a circle), and the number of techniques learned from watching master potters at work is invaluable. There is enough pottery throwing information in CLAYflicks to keep you busy for a very long time. So, what’re waiting for? Dig in and happy throwing!