Weird lip when pulling up

Yeah - I should practice centering more, but it gets so boring after a while! When I throw, I use MINIMAL water - am very proud of how dry my wheel tray is - but I take my time and work slowly - stopping to look at the shape and so on. It might not take as much as a half hour, but it definitely takes even more when I haven't managed to center the piece properly!

I know it will become quicker - it already has - and the more I work on the wheel each week, the easier it gets. Thing is, that I am still a relative newbie and I don't always have access to a wheel. 4 weeks' "holiday" in Norway set me back quite a bit!

That said, I am now getting to the point where I am boss of the clay more than it is boss of me. I decide the shape, not the clay. As I practice more, it will get better and better, I know. I just need to spend the time.

Working a whole day only with centering bores me too much! I want to make shapes, I want them fired and to be able to test my glazes! I do it that way and find that then I have fun generally. I am not looking to do this for a living - I just want to live with the clay :-)

Marianne

Well, I think spending a whole day doing nothing but centering would be boring, too. I can see why you wouldn't want to do that, even if it could possibly be helpful. That being said though, I wouldn't start pulling up a piece if I knew it wasn't properly centered. Get that down first before you make your pull. Otherwise, you're sure to get a piece that doesn't work in some way or another, and you won't be learning the proper throwing techniques either. Each step grows out of the one before it.

And there's nothing wrong with working slowly if that's what you like to do. No rules exist about pulling up a pot fast--it's pretty much preference. If you're trying to make a living at it, or if you're looking for a fresh look or a quick study, then go for fast throwing from start to finish. It's a good exercise, if nothing else, and develops a different part of your creative brain.

Deb R.

Something I noticed with someone who was having problems centering and something I vaguely remember - there is a tendency to actually use too much force centering.... That is you initially are pushing in and down with your whole body behind it but then you must very gently and slowly lighten up and pull back. It is easy to have things nice and centered without even realizing it and then by pulling back too quickly knock everything off...

I know practice is boring, but to make pottery easily, it is necessary. I am not a professsional potter, but when you are throwing, if it doesn't center, start over. Also, some days, it happens easily, and others, it is more difficult. Who knows why. Practicing is the key. Before you know it, it will become second nature. Good luck. I think we have all been there.

I'm not sure what you are suggesting here. Surely you are not recommending that a beginning potter do nothing but the act of centering over and over again without going through the whole process? I have never seen anyone learn in that manner. You are really centering throughout the whole process in fact. Also clay behaves differently the longer you work with it because it is taking in more and more water. If your clay is soft to begin with, you want to work as quickly as you can and with as little water as you can. If it is too hard you can soften it up with wheel wedging (the bringing it up into a cone and bending it back down into center). You use different techniques for different amounts of clay and for different conditions of the clay. Trying different amounts of clay to throw with lets an individual finds what is easiest for them to work with and once they are comfortable with what fits them naturally they can adjust up and down. I've never seen two potters do things exactly the same way. I suppose that is where the art comes into the craft....

Good point. I do notice that sometimes it is as if I am having a wrestling match with the clay! Hehe! I will try to go the other way and persuade it instead of forcing it. Thanks.

Oh - and I don't start working on a piece that isn't centered. But there are degrees - if it is just a teeny bit wobbly, and I have been at it for a long time, I might just pull it up to see how high I can go, then throw the whole thing in the bucket after. With some pieces, I get the feeling that I hadn't kneaded well enough beforehand, so that no matter how much I try, that piece will never be good for anything but practice.

Marianne

I am in SUCH a good mood! Your tip about not using as much force did the trick! I made 3 pieces - each from a kilo of clay - and only one is a bit wobly, and it think that is because of something I did while pulling up, not while centering.

Thank you thank you thank you! I was getting SO frustrated with the centering lately!

Marianne

Thrilled that it worked! Life is good...

Definitely! :-)

Marianne

dkat: I am just saying that in order to be good at something, one must practice. I mean, that if it isn't centered, it's pretty hard to pull it up into a cylinder. If it is not centering, rewedge it, and center again. Or get an new piece of clay. I agree, that the more you do to that piece with which you are having a problem, the more water you introduce to it, the less likely you are to be successful in that piece.

Marianne,

I just remembered one thing on centering that was getting to me, that is when you have the pressure on the clay and it looks centered, back the pressure off very ....slowly....... Hope that helps a bit, I am constantly reminding myself of it.

Yup - been there with the quick hands off - doesn't work well! Hehe!

Thanks for the reminder :-)

Marianne

Understood now and agreed with.