TURNING

Once the throwing is completed a wire is used to cut the pot off the wheel head or from the wooden throwing batt.

The pot must now be left to dry evenly until it approaches the texture of cheddar cheese. It’s wise to turn the pot upside down half way through this drying process to enable the base to dry to the same degree.

The cheese-hard pot is then positioned back on the wheel upside down and dead-centre. It is secured to the wheel head with sausages of clay. With the wheel turning at a moderate speed a sharp metal tool is used to shave excess clay from the base of the pot and to create the foot of the pot. This is the “turning” process. It can really enhance the final ‘visual balance’ of the shape and is as important as the throwing itself in many ways.

You have to be careful not to cut away too much clay and end up with a pot with no base!