00:00centering Clay on the potter's wheel is
00:02one of the most difficult processes to
00:04learn when throwing pots and even in my
00:06other videos that focus on centering
00:08clay there's always a few things I miss
00:11and so in this video I'll go over five
00:14perhaps more subtle tips for when you're
00:16centering Clay on The Potter's
00:18Wheel but before I can get started with
00:21those I first have to prepare the clay
00:25with this is a high iron ston wear body
00:28that contains a bit of Grog which means
00:30it isn't perfectly smooth it's a quality
00:32I prefer when throwing and trimming pots
00:35as it gives the material some tooth and
00:37some haptic feedback which other very
00:39smooth Clays don't offer I divide the
00:42clay into five lumps and wedge them
00:44thoroughly this process removes air
00:45pockets from the clay it makes the
00:47texture even throughout the first tip is
00:50to work with Clay that's the right
00:52consistency it should be soft and easily
00:55malleable and not overly firm like this
00:57piece of clay which I can still
00:59indentify if I press my thumb into it
01:01but to try and throw with this lump of
01:03glay would be completely impossible and
01:05potentially dangerous as the sheer
01:07amount of force needed to center it
01:09could very well lead to you injuring
01:11yourself so if you can't wedge it then
01:14you definitely shouldn't be throwing
01:16with it even attempting to knead clay
01:18like this will cause you to hurt your
01:20wrists so if you have Clay like this you
01:22really have just two
01:24options you can either dry the entire
01:26piece out until it's bone dry which I
01:28normally do by placing it on the
01:30radiator and then slake it down in water
01:32and recycle it like normal or it can be
01:34cut into many thin slices and then
01:37layered with much softer
01:40clay which can then all be thoroughly
01:43wedged into a softer more usable
01:45material it can take some time to fully
01:48blend it and even then you need to make
01:49sure it's soft enough to actually throw
01:51with in this case it's still felt
01:53slightly on the firm side but I should
01:55be able to throw a pot with it and you
01:58can see that in this comparison with two
02:00lumps of clay with the firm piece on the
02:02right as I push my thumbs into them with
02:04the same amount of pressure and if your
02:07clay acts like what you see on the right
02:09you will find it more difficult to
02:11Center especially if you're a beginner
02:13but let's try throwing with each to see
02:16happens here's the firm lump which
02:19doesn't stick down as securely as the
02:21softer stuff and when centering it not
02:23only do I have to use much more pressure
02:25but I need to move it around a lot more
02:27too in order for it to feel centered the
02:29stone where doesn't meld together in
02:31quite the same way and it takes coning
02:33it up and down four or five times until
02:35it feels like it's ready to be turned
02:39pop this process took about a minute and
02:42a half and for a piece of clay this size
02:44that's way too long and if you are just
02:47starting to learn how to throw on The
02:48Potter's Wheel clay this hard will
02:50actually make that process more
02:52difficult but with that being said firm
02:55clay like this can be really useful for
02:57throwing certain shapes with as the clay
02:59keeps it strength for longer before it
03:01becomes saturated with water and weakens
03:03so it does have its uses especially when
03:06it comes to lifting the pot away as it
03:08holds its shape just that much
03:11better the previous firm lump of clay
03:14took 1 and 1/2 minutes to Center so
03:17let's see just how much faster that
03:19process is with a soft
03:21lump it already just feels so much
03:23easier to work with there's less strain
03:26on my left wrist and even just by moving
03:28it around a tiny bit the material feels
03:30like it's meshed together much better
03:32and it only took 20 seconds to Center
03:35which is considerably faster and it was
03:37far less physically demanding so if you
03:39are just learning how to make pots on
03:41the wheel go for the softer stuff it'll
03:58easier the next tip is to keep the sides
04:01of your lump of clay straight I do this
04:03by keeping my hands that clasp the clay
04:06from the outside vertical like this you
04:08don't want your hands to slope in like
04:10so as doing so will create a shape
04:12that's harder to open up and throw into
04:14a pot as the highest point is in the
04:16middle of the lump which makes opening
04:18up the hollow and forming the internal
04:20base harder as you're having to move
04:22more material you also inevitably end up
04:24wasting some clay as it slopes gradually
04:27into the metal so this is the shape we
04:29have to avoid but if you find your lump
04:31of clay is this shape squeeze in firmly
04:34with your little fingers from around the
04:36outside then make sure the fingers and
04:38palm of at least one of your hands is
04:40nice and straight like so and then you
04:42can push the clay down from above
04:44against the profile of your hand and our
04:47aim is to create a puck shape like this
04:49with a flattish top and flat sides doing
04:52so makes opening up and pulling up the
04:54Walls of Clay far more simple as the
04:56material will naturally be in a better
04:58location for for those next steps so
05:01remember we want a flat top with flat
05:04sides and if you have a small Groove
05:06around the bottom from where your little
05:08finger pressed in to stop the clay from
05:10spreading out onto the metal then that
05:27whatsoever the next tip will help you
05:29keep your hand steady and level as
05:31centering often throughout this process
05:34you might notice that one of your hands
05:36or both of them are wavering up and down
05:38ever so slightly despite the lump of
05:40clay feeling like it's scentered this is
05:42usually because of some leftover Clay on
05:44the wheel head underneath your hand and
05:47when it's uneven like it is here it
05:49causes your hands to wobble as the
05:50material undulates beneath them and well
05:53how are you ever going to center a lump
05:54of clay perfectly when your hands are
05:56moving so all I do in this case is use
05:59my thumb to scrape away much of this
06:01material so that it's even all the way
06:03around and thus the clay here has no
06:05influence on my hands another bit of
06:08advice for when you're centering Clay is
06:09that you should never push your hands
06:11down against the metal so that you feel
06:13your skin scrape against
06:16it often you can hear when you're
06:18pressing down too hard and you can see
06:20residue left over from the aluminium on
06:23your hand if you keep doing this it will
06:25wear away your skin thus making the
06:27process of throwing pots almost
06:29impossible I as it hurts too much
06:31instead I let my hand hover by about a
06:33millimet or so Gliding Over a thin layer
06:36of slip that naturally accumulates here
06:39additionally if you feel like your Clay
06:40is becoming very Sandy all of a sudden
06:42it's because you're spending too long
06:44centering it and you'll literally wear
06:46away the outer layer of clay revealing
06:48more and more sand which like you may
06:50guess grinds against your skin causing
06:53irritation and pain but I should mention
06:55that this only happens with Clays that
06:57contain Grog but if you're using a
06:59particular particularly smooth clay body
07:00you shouldn't run into this
07:02issue my fourth bit of advice is the
07:07speed when centering clay and throwing
07:10Pots if you keep the wheel on Full Speed
07:12from the very beginning it can make the
07:14process harder as the clay really wants
07:16to fling itself off but once under
07:18control it will spin with more stability
07:21but normally as I work I alter the speed
07:23at certain points to suit whatever my
07:25hands are doing on the wheel when
07:27centering I generally spin the wheel
07:29quite quickly but I never go at full
07:31speed and at the start for the first few
07:33moments I take it slowly just to get the
07:35clay into the right shape and then I
07:37ramp it up with time changing the speed
07:40of the wheel really becomes a
07:41subconscious act but when first learning
07:44how to make pots it's something you're
07:45thinking about all the time I think
07:47generally it's better to go a bit more
07:49slowly than you think but at the same
07:51time you definitely don't want to go too
07:53slow as once again doing so only makes
07:55the process harder than it need
08:03as demonstrated with this lump of clay
08:06which I'll try and center with the wheel
08:07spinning really slowly normally i' be
08:10going at twice or three times the speed
08:12for the initial stage and then I'd even
08:14speed up just a tiny bit more to define
08:16the shape and then when I cone up and
08:18down I tend to slow it down as the clay
08:20Rises Higher by going really slowly like
08:23this it's much more difficult to apply
08:25constant pressure as the clay doesn't
08:27feel like it's pushing back it
08:28inevitably leans to one side and that
08:30means the offc center side then hits
08:32back into my palm and I have to readjust
08:34my hand so overall going too slowly is
08:38actually more difficult than if the
08:39wheel's spinning too quickly not to
08:41mention going at a snail's pace like
08:43this will mean it takes you forever to
08:45throw pots and when you're learning to
08:46Center and pull up the walls what's
08:48really helpful is just having dozens and
08:50dozens and dozens of goes at it quickly
08:53one after another so that you can gain
08:55an understanding of the material you're
08:57working with to see what its limitations
08:59are and by working a bit more quickly at
09:02the start you'll make more pots have
09:04more successes and more failures which
09:06means you should get a grasp of the
09:08centering process just that bit
09:11faster this is the speed I normally work
09:14at you'll notice that I slow down ever
09:17so slightly when I change the positions
09:19of my hands to readjust them fetch water
09:24tool or when I can press it down too I
09:27again decrease the rate which it spins I
09:30then speed up as I make the hole in the
09:37middle and then I keep the speed
09:40consistent as I pull the walls up
09:42together with moving my hands at an even
09:44rate as if I were to suddenly change the
09:46wheel speed or move my hands much more
09:48quickly then that part of the wall where
09:50they are would be thrown differently
09:52from the rest which isn't ideal is what
09:54I'm aiming for is an even cross-section
10:08the final tip for centering Clay is to
10:10keep the material moving if I were to
10:12wet the clay and just leave my hands
10:14braced around it like this allowing the
10:17clay to just flow beneath them as I
10:19press my hands onto it then I won't
10:20Center it nearly as quickly compared to
10:22if I move the clay around quite
10:24dramatically be that coning it up and
10:26down a process that helps align the
10:28particles of clay so they knit together
10:30and become more plastic and therefore
10:32easier to throw with if I have one lump
10:34of clay which I don't cone compared to
10:36another which is ConEd up and down three
10:38or four times I can feel the difference
10:41in the material it runs more smoothly
10:43beneath my hands and it's easier to
10:45control when the lump of clay is opened
10:47up and the walls are pulled ever higher
10:49as sometimes no matter how much you
10:51wedge a piece of Clay on the table
10:53before it's thrown there could be
10:55something just not quite right with it
10:57so if your goal is to achieve a a more
10:59scented lump of clay and throw better
11:01pots coning the clay and keeping it
11:03moving before you settle on that
11:05finalized Puck shape can be Beyond
11:08helpful so once again I have my hand
11:11flat around the outside I use the edge
11:13of my hand to flatten the top and I
11:15scrape away any excess from around the
11:17bottom that could influence the movement
11:19of my hand that's clasped around the
11:21lump of clay and sometimes just moving
11:23it ever so subtly in and out like this
11:26can go a long way in helping the piece
11:28of clay become truly centered all of
11:31this could feel like it's a lot to
11:32remember and when you're learning it
11:34really is there are so many steps and
11:37not every Pottery tutor teaches this
11:39process in the same way after all our
11:41hands are different shapes so what might
11:43feel right and comfortable for one
11:44person may not necessarily work for
11:47somebody else but hopefully the tips in
11:49this video will help you Center lumps of
11:50clay more easily and if you'd like to
11:52watch an even longer even more in-depth
11:55video about the centering process I've
11:57made a number of other videos from from
11:59a more broad perspective such as how to
12:01position and move your hands and what
12:03we're looking for in a centered lump of
12:04clay I'll include links to both of those
12:06videos in the description below as they
12:08may answer many of the questions you
12:10still have centering Clay is not easy
12:13but it's something you need to tackle
12:15when learning to throw as it underpins
12:17everything yet at the same time you need
12:19to understand that your centering will
12:21become better over time it's not a skill
12:24that you just complete and suddenly you
12:25can Center any lump of clay no matter
12:27its size instead it's a skill you can
12:29build upon and get faster at and even
12:31now after 15 years of centering and
12:33throwing pots I can still see
12:35improvements here in there that
12:37seemingly creep out of
12:39nowhere I hope you found this video
12:42helpful and if you'd like to see more
12:43like it in the future or if there's any
12:45other throwing subject you'd like me to
12:47cover leave a comment and let me
12:49know until then thank you so much for
12:52taking your time to watch and I'll see
