Centering and throwing

"i find it extremely hard to explain throwing in words". ~ Monika

~ so i became and engineer, got hooked on pottery, and started
teaching...

THEN i tried to explain throwing to people. my fall back initially was
technical terms which lay people don't normally connect with.

i found my vocabulary changing & today i don't seem to be a *normal*
engineer...

i have to say i've done ok with most everyone i taught being able to
throw a pot on the 1st or 2nd try.

~ then the deaf girl showed up!

i must have done alright because she took the class several sessions &
even brought in three of her deaf friends. try adding THAT challenge
to the class!

PUSH would be the most lacking element of centering. "take charge" of
the clay is another.

~ i forget what the technical terms for that actually are anymore...

see ya

steve

"Steve Mills" wrote in message
...
In article , Xtra News Annemarie
@nospam.annemariebutler.com writes


I guess it depends on your wheel. The electric wheels I have used
probably
do not go as fast as a Shimpo which I believe is a more professional
production type wheel.
The electric wheels that I use are Talisman which I believe is just a NZ
brand.
Anyway, I work by going flat out for centering, most people that I have
seen
demonstrate do the same and it is most certainly the way I teach, you do
not
loose control, but the wheel does more of the work for you.
However once centred it is necessary to slow down to keep control.
Hey I guess we are all different.


Interestingly the wheel I now use is made in NZ by Cowley, It is a
bullet-proof piece of kit with the only totally indestructible splash
tray I have ever met made of heavy-duty Polypropylene. It has very
simple drive mechanism, and it goes on for ever!

Steve
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK

Yes familiar with them and have used them. The splash tray on the talisman
is strong too and they go for years often lasting the life time of potters
)

"Monika Schleidt" wrote in message
...

I have used a Shimpo for the last 20 years or so. (I also learned it on a
kickwheel). And my rule of thunb is, - full speed for centering, for
opening the clay, and then, the thinner the wall, the slower the speed.
Once you have a thin neck, you go very, very slowly.

In general, i find it extremely hard to explain throwing in words. Which
is the reason why i don't understand the original posters post. You simply
can't put it in words. Every so often, when i have a student at the wheel
asking questions, i tell them "let me sit down and show you what i do".

The one advice which i can endorse is, when you feel the clay is centered,
let go very, very gently. Too many times the clay will go out of center
when you let go to suddenly.

The rest, i think, is just learned by doing. To many beginners think there
must be a way to be told how it works. --- There isn't! just keep at it
and it will come. Everybody does it a bit differently.

Monika

Exactly Monika, everyone is has a slightly different technique and practise
is the only way to master it

We have had posters that have hit the wall and not been able to figure out
what they were doing wrong in their throwing. I was adding my thoughts on
where some problems come up and the insights I have had from my own
throwing.

I agree completely that there are no rules to throwing but it helps to see
things from other people's perspective. I thought Steve's description
"...[the] process is really a spin form extrusion" was brilliant. I like
your generalization that the thinner the wall the slower the speed.

What I and others have said may not make any sense to most but if it clicks
for just one person, that makes it worth the bandwidth I think.

"Monika Schleidt" wrote in message
...
I have used a Shimpo for the last 20 years or so. (I also learned it on
a kickwheel). And my rule of thunb is, - full speed for centering, for
opening the clay, and then, the thinner the wall, the slower the speed.
Once you have a thin neck, you go very, very slowly.

In general, i find it extremely hard to explain throwing in words. Which
is the reason why i don't understand the original posters post. You
simply can't put it in words. Every so often, when i have a student at
the wheel asking questions, i tell them "let me sit down and show you
what i do".

The one advice which i can endorse is, when you feel the clay is
centered, let go very, very gently. Too many times the clay will go out
of center when you let go to suddenly.

The rest, i think, is just learned by doing. To many beginners think
there must be a way to be told how it works. --- There isn't! just keep
at it and it will come. Everybody does it a bit differently.

Monika

--
Monika Schleidt

www.schleidt.org/MSKeramik
if you wish to write me a mail, remove the number from my user name

"dkat" wrote in message
...
We have had posters that have hit the wall and not been able to figure out
what they were doing wrong in their throwing. I was adding my thoughts on
where some problems come up and the insights I have had from my own
throwing.

I agree completely that there are no rules to throwing but it helps to see
things from other people's perspective. I thought Steve's description
"...[the] process is really a spin form extrusion" was brilliant. I like
your generalization that the thinner the wall the slower the speed.

What I and others have said may not make any sense to most but if it
clicks
for just one person, that makes it worth the bandwidth I think.

Oh hey I agree its great to have a go at describing techniques. It may just
help some people too, different things "click" with different people.
I agree with Monika too though that some people expect easy answers when
really it is only practise that gets you there. Doesn't mean we should stop
trying though )

"Xtra News" wrote in message
...

"dkat" wrote in message
...
We have had posters that have hit the wall and not been able to figure
out
what they were doing wrong in their throwing. I was adding my thoughts
on
where some problems come up and the insights I have had from my own
throwing.

I agree completely that there are no rules to throwing but it helps to
see
things from other people's perspective. I thought Steve's description
"...[the] process is really a spin form extrusion" was brilliant. I like
your generalization that the thinner the wall the slower the speed.

What I and others have said may not make any sense to most but if it
clicks
for just one person, that makes it worth the bandwidth I think.

Oh hey I agree its great to have a go at describing techniques. It may
just help some people too, different things "click" with different people.
I agree with Monika too though that some people expect easy answers when
really it is only practise that gets you there. Doesn't mean we should
stop trying though )

A famous psychologist (NOT CLINICAL! - yes there are many fields out there
in psychology that have absolutely nothing to do with how you feel about
your mother) concluded that to be at a professional level in any field that
you had to put in 5000 hours. It doesn't matter really how they are done
(over a span of months, over a span of decades, etc), just that they are
done. You do however have to have some basic understanding of what you are
doing in the first place. That is - it helps to have a boot strap to get on
the horse.

i heard a potter describe the same except via a few tons of clay...

see ya

steve

"dkat" wrote in message
...
We have had posters that have hit the wall and not been able to figure out
what they were doing wrong in their throwing. I was adding my thoughts on
where some problems come up and the insights I have had from my own
throwing.

I agree completely that there are no rules to throwing but it helps to see
things from other people's perspective. I thought Steve's description
"...[the] process is really a spin form extrusion" was brilliant. I like
your generalization that the thinner the wall the slower the speed.

What I and others have said may not make any sense to most but if it
clicks
for just one person, that makes it worth the bandwidth I think.

Hi DK!

I thank you very much for starting this thread! I haven't read through it
until now, because I wanted to be totally in control of my senses - ie.
nobody else awake and my visiting mother stays up as late as I do! LOL!

I have copied several tips into a text file I called "Sound bytes" and
stored it in my pottery folder. These will then get laminated and hung up
around my "studio" (cell?) for my eyes to fall on every now and then. Those
about throwing, of course by the wheel for the most part.

I really pay attention when you guys start discussing your different
techniques! Some of them sound just perfect for me - others sound like I
might try and see if they work for me. I usually try them all as I go on on
my learning-spree :-)

Thanks again!

Marianne

well, here's one to add...

at the end of a day producing work, make a piece for YOU!

while making a series is good to do, end the day on an up note by
throwing pots maybe BIGGER then you're used to, THINNER, TALLER, etc.
something different.

see ya

steve

wrote in message
oups.com...
well, here's one to add...

at the end of a day producing work, make a piece for YOU!

while making a series is good to do, end the day on an up note by
throwing pots maybe BIGGER then you're used to, THINNER, TALLER, etc.
something different.

When I have been working a whole day, the last pot is usually WONKIER than
all the rest! Hehe!

I don't do series yet, as I don't have enough control. I am really still in
the very early stages of learning. Besides that, where should I put them to
dry and when they are finished??!! I try to give away as much as possible,
but there are only so many people who like my wonky pots ;-)

Have a great Sunday!

Marianne