Going Batty: How to Choose the Right Bat for Your Work
In today’s post, an excerpt from our latest free download Pottery Throwing Tools: A Guide to Making and Using Pottery Tools for Wheel Throwing, Bill Jones, gives the low down on the wide variety of bats on the market today to help you figure out which on is right for your needs.
How to Use a Throwing Stick
Rotund pots with robust contours and broad shoulders blending into well-proportioned necks achieve a distinction reminiscent of ancient Greek styles. However, major problems may occur when throwing such forms due in part to the mechanics of the shape.
Making Multiples: Using Templates to Throw Uniform Shapes on the Pottery Wheel
I think many beginning potters start out with the goal of making perfect sets of bowls or mugs, but quickly realize that it isn’t that easy to make exact duplicates on the pottery wheel. Today potter Bill Schran explains how he makes and uses templates to throw multiples on the pottery wheel.
7 Useful Tips, Tools, and Techniques for the Ceramic Studio
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, potters and ceramic artists are some of the most resourceful people around. I am continually impressed by the myriad tools and studio shortcuts that members of our community come up with to make their lives more efficient. It’s been a while since I have shared… Read More »DIY Clay Tools Video Contest Winner!
The votes are in and I’m pleased to announce that Craig Rhodes is the
grand prize winner of our DIY Clay Tools Video Contest! In today’s
post, Craig will tell us a bit more about himself and how he plans to
use his gift card. Plus we’ll share some images of his work, like the
beautiful bowl to the left. Congratulations to Craig, and to runners up Murry
Gans and Joe Dillett.
How to Make Ergonomic Pottery Throwing Sticks
In today’s post, an excerpt from our new free download Pottery Throwing Tools: A Guide to Making and Using Pottery Tools for Wheel Throwing, David explains how to make his ergonomic custom curved throwing sticks.
DIY Clay Tools Video Contest: Finalist 3
Today, we are happy to present the next finalist in our DIY Clay Tools Video Contest: Craig Rhodes and his oversized splash pan. Also, the voting for the grand prize winner begins today and continues through midnight (Eastern Standard Time) Monday, August 2. Click here to watch the video and vote for your favorite!
All About Throwing Gauges
More than likely you’ll get to the point where you’d like to throw multiples of an object. Getting work to look the same when making more than one of an item takes a bit of practice because it’s not as easy as it looks! To help assure you’ll get some sort of consistency on your next set of mugs or bowls, you need a throwing gauge—a way of keeping track of the measurements from the first piece to the last. There are several options for throwing gauges based on designs from both eastern and western cultures, as well asad hoc solutions that use items around your studio.
DIY Clay Tools Video Contest – Finalist 1
So, we were right! Our
audience is a clever lot. The submissions for the DIY Clay Tools Video
Contest are in and they did not disappoint. After much deliberation,
we’ve chosen three great finalists. We will present them today, Wednesday, July 28, and Friday, July 30. A
link to the voting page for the grand prize winner will be posted on
Friday July 30, and voting will continue through midnight (Eastern
Standard Time) Monday, August 2. Watch the video!
Throwing Ribs
Even though our fingers serve as our primary throwing tools,
there are times when a throwing rib does a better job. Ribs are a potter’s best
friend when it comes to defining profiles, wringing out water or adding decorative
touches. In the beginning, actual animal ribs were used for this purpose—and
hence the name—but now contemporary ribs are commonly made from wood, metal,
and plastic.
