January 30, 2009

Video of the Week:Throwing Large Pots with Ease

by Tony Clennell | Read Comments (0)

Even if you think bigger is better, it doesn't necessarily mean that bigger is more difficult. As Tony Clennell demonstrates in his DVD Taking the Macho Out of Bigware, the size of a pot has more to do with technique than with muscle. A few basic throwing techniques—and a clever trick or two—will get you on your way to increasing the scale of what you can make and what you can imagine.

Watch the video now!

We've included a step-by-step recap of the technique below, along with links to more information.- Jennifer Harnetty, editor.

/ First, Throw the base of the pot by itself. This allows you to really compress the bottom.
/ Next, place a coin in the center of the bottom. This will help you locate the bottom of the pot during the next few steps.
/ Add about 8 pounds of clay directly on top of the base you just compressed, center and throw as usual.
/ When you open the clay, your fingers will reach the coin you placed in the middle of the bottom, letting you know when to stop. This is especially helpful when throwing larger amounts of clay, because it is sometimes difficult to gauge the thickness of the bottom.

Check out the full description of the entire DVD
Taking the Macho Out of Bigware
in the Ceramic Arts Daily Bookstore!

/ When working with larger amounts of clay, Clennell uses more of his hand than usual. In this case, he is using the entire side of his index finger to pull the cylinder. It offers more strength and more control.
/ After throwing the spherical bottom section and allowing to dry to leather hard, Clennell throws a cylinder that is open all the way to the wheel head for the top of the pot, being careful to measure the diameters with calipers so they match.
/ After placing the cylinder on the sphere, he attaches them by thumbing the attachment between the two and smoothing it out by throwing.
/ Final detail is added to the top section with a rib, and the piece is finished. Adding this detail without the bottom section at leather hard would be more difficult.

To learn more about Tony Clennell, visit.