How to Throw a Large Bowl on a Pottery Wheel

How to Throw a Large Bowl on a Pottery Wheel
A large clay bowl glazed with two tone engobe
Typically the larger an item made on a potter's wheel the more difficult to make. Greater mass spinning equals greater momentum. This greater momentum of an object is often too much for the weak unfired clay to take and stay coherent. That's why there is a need for a guide that deals specifically with large items thrown on a potter's wheel. In this guide we will use a simple bowl, but the principle for most objects is still the same.

Things You’ll Need:
Potter's wheel

A lot of clay

Damp sponge

Throwing a Large Bowl
Step 1:
To throw a bowl or a plate, you do not need to form a cylinder. Center the clay and open it as usual. Then, instead of bringing the wall straight up, make a bowl shape by widening the opening and bringing the walls up and outward at the same time. With most large objects, the clay should be brought outward or upward, but it is very difficult to do both as it puts too much clay away from the pieces center of balance.

Step 2:
Use the heel of your right hand to enlarge the opening and force the wall outward. Your left hand supports the clay on the outside, fingers keeping the clay from bulging out at weak points or losing their symmetry.

Step 3:
Slowly bring up the wall outward by gripping the clay with the tips of your fingers, one hand on the interior and the other on the outside, and lifting upward.

Step 4:
When the wall is at the desired height and distance from the center, it is now time to thin and smooth the interior of the bowl. With the wheel moving at normal speed, place the tip of your thumb to the very center of the bowl and lighting draw it to the lip of the bowl. To keep the bowl from growing trace your thumb from the lip back to the center. This will help to evenly distribute the clay of the bowl and avoid thick or thin spots.

Step 5:
In order to shape the base or foot hold your right hand just about the rotating surface of the wheel and press it inward to the outside base of the bowl. The middle finger should skim against the surface of the batt and your index finger should dig into the pinch point of the bowl, parting the clay in order to help define the exterior shape of the bowl. Let the left hand ride on the rim of the interior to keep it from being pushed inward by the right hand.

Step 6:
With the wheel moving slowly wipe the entire bowl down with a damp sponge to finish and smooth the surface. You're finished!

Tips & Warnings
The quicker you work the greater likelihood you'll succeed in making your bowl. If the clay begins to dry out there's a good chance it'll crack while you're working it, but adding more water to clay while working it will weaken it too much to keep its shape.
The larger you make your bowl the greater chance it will become unbalanced and collapse. You might want to start with a small bowl and slowly increase the size of each successive piece.

How to Coil Build A Coffeepot

For the beginning potter a large investment like a potter's wheel may not be feasible. But there is another way to construct pottery without a wheel. That is with coil building. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make your very own coil-built coffeepot.

Things You’ll Need:
Clay

Workspace

Kiln

Cup of water

Old paintbrush

Knife

Wooden modeling tool

Wire loop tool

Making A Coil Coffeepot
Step 1:
Roll a ball of clay and flatten it into a disk 3/4 inches think to serve as the base.

Step 2:
Roughen the top outer edge of the disk and moisten it with your paintbrush.

Step 3:
Roll a coil of clay and lay it on the outer edge of the base. Cut the ends of the coil at a slant so that they will join without making a thick spot in the walls.

Step 4:
Weld the coil firmly into place and press it and the base firmly together so that the divide between them cannot be seen. Mold the form with your fingers until it’s about 1/2 inch thick and uniform throughout.

Step 5:
When the first coil is finished, roughen the top and moisten it. Then roll a second coil and put it into place on top of the first. Smooth it in the same fashion as the first coil to make one whole piece. Repeat the same procedure with a third coil.

Step 6:
The walls of the work may be too weak to sustain the weight of a fourth coil. If so, set the piece aside for a few hours to harden a little before continuing. Add as many coils are as necessary to form the shape of the pot.

Step 7:
Trim the top edge of the pot clean with your knife and rub the pot all over with the flat of your wooden modeling tool to smooth its surface. You needn't be extremely thorough just yet.

Step 8:
Let the piece dry for another hour or two, and then shape the foot. The base of the pot was made deliberately thick, allowing you space to use your wire loop tool to carve out a rim for the pot to stand on. Hold the piece carefully while you do this so you don't spoil the top edge that you've already smoothed.

Step 9:
Roll a ball of clay, flatten it, and cut out a fan shaped piece. A bit like Pac-Man. This can be folded to make the spout.

Step 10:
Cut a downward pointing triangular opening at the top of the pot where the spout will be. Roughen the edges of the pot and mold the spout into place.

Step 11:
Roll another coil of clay and flatten it into a strip with your thumb.

Step 12:
Bend the strip into a handle shape, like a "C" and mold both ends to the pot on the side directly opposite the spout. Congratulations! Aside from decoration and glazing you've finished your pot

Tips & Warnings
make a cardboard cutout in the exact sidelong shape you want your pot to be and use it as a template to ensure the coils match the cutout. Sometimes you may find it helpful to roll a very thin coil of clay and press it into the joint between the pot and the coil you are adding.