Carter - Mastering the potters wheel: techniques, tips, and tricks for potters

Linda Arbuckle, cup. Photo courtesy of the artist

Yet while there is a transition from the brain to the eyes and hands as throwing skills progress, it is helpful once you make a work to move from what your hands created back to thinking about how that object may work for the user or viewer. Only consideration and analysis of the pot after it is made will help you adjust and resolve your creation so it really sings. Thought collaborates with body knowledge in the process of throwing, making for a give and take between them that is always an interesting challenge. The materiality of clay and the personal touch of the potter add other dimensions to thoughts and plans about pieces. Personally, I believe that thoughtful, considered work is better than work based solely in process, although we all need process and skills to make work. In other words, it takes insight to orchestrate the diverse parts of a pot and use throwing to best advantage, and therein lays the fun.

I have known Ben Carter since he came to the University of Florida as a post-baccalaureate ceramic student in 2004. Since that time, hes continued to broaden his ideas and abilities by working in numerous artist-in-residence programs, completing his MFA at the University of Florida and lecturing in a variety of universities and art centers in the United States and abroad, as well as interviewing many artists for his popular podcast. The two years he spent in Shanghai as Educational Director at The Pottery Workshop exposed him to new ways to work, wonderful historic pottery, and fresh ideas about functional ware. Bens understanding of form and technique has grown to encompass a broad view of process and ideas, which has increased his sensitivity to the place of the wheel as a tool.

This breadth of understanding makes him a very comprehensive teacher and a wonderful person to write a book about using the wheel to make pots. Youll find his book is rich with details and examples that both beginning potters as well as more seasoned makers will appreciate. As you take the books lessons and exercises into your own studio, youll find throwing is an experience that will take you on a journey, often to unexpected places. Enjoy your discoveries.

LINDA ARBUCKLE

WHETHER YOURE NEW to the potters wheel or youve been throwing for some time, this chapter will likely have some new ideas that can enhance your studio habitsor even your life! In addition to tools and materials and general studio setup, in this chapter Ill cover proper studio safety, body mechanics, and techniques on the wheel. I encourage you to think about these areas as the legs of a three-pointed stool. Taking away any of these will make your studio practice unstable and much harder to balance.

Over the years I have worked in a variety of production potteries both large and small. They have their individual quirks, but there are a few common denominators that they share. One unexpected trait that was common in the more successful studios was studio cleanliness. The studios that were the most productive also incorporated a cleaning routine into their workweek. It taught me that cleanliness is not only a health issue but also an efficiency issue. The more deliberate a studio is about planning their studio space, the more deliberate they ended up being with the aesthetic and business decisions they made in their work.