Ten top tips for beginners: centering clay on the pottery wheel
When I first started throwing on the potter’s wheel, the most frustrating skill to learn was centering. It also turned out that it’s the most important part...
As I was learning, I found a few things really helped me refine the skill of centering, so I’ve written my ten top tips for centering clay as a beginner.
Don’t expect too much to begin with. As with any new hobby or skill, you need to expect it to be difficult to start with. Take your time to get used to how the clay feels as you move it around on the pottery wheel.
Practise, practise, practise. Then practise some some! There aren’t any shortcuts with throwing unfortunately, but the good news is that practise really does make perfect! Be prepared to make a lot of wonky pots before you start producing some that you’re happy with.
Wedge your clay. Centering is much easier with homogenous clay. Wedge it or put it through a pug mill before you start throwing.
Weigh your clay. Try practising using the same amount of clay each time you throw for greater consistency.
Put your clay in the centre of the wheel head. Start as you mean to go on! If you begin to throw with the clay in the middle of the wheel, it’ll be a lot easier to get it centred later.
Remember to add water. When the clay starts to feel hot in your hands, this is a tell tale sign that you need to lubricate your hands with more water.
Anchor your arms into your sides/hips. This will stop the clay from throwing you around so that you can move it into the centre of the wheel.
Cone up. If your clay isn’t centered, try slowly coning it back up and down again to bring it back into the middle of the wheel head.
Repetition. Stick to the same simple forms to begin with, eg cylinders and bowls, before you start trying new shapes and techniques. Nail the basics first!
Pay attention to speed. Although the wheel should be spinning quickly when centering, every move your hands make should be steady and deliberate - from coning the clay up and down, to taking your hands away from the clay to add more water. The pottery wheel speed may be fast, but your movements don’t have to be.