As a beginner potter, I was amazed at what I could make out of a lump of clay. Amazed at how I could mold the clay into a shape that resembled a mug or a bowl. Amazed how I painstakingly worked to make it perfect. Back then I was usually pretty proud of my pieces. But when I look at those pots now, that pride kind of shrinks away. Those early pots really were not very good. The rims were usually uneven. I didn’t know how to properly trim my pots. I didn’t know how to create a foot ring. I didn’t know how to use a rib to smooth and shape the clay. I didn’t even know to leave the bottoms of my pots unglazed and instead, I put all my pots on stilts in the glaze fire. But all my early pieces did have one thing in common. They were very heavy!
I am assuredly my own worst critic. But it was true, I needed help at raising the walls of my pots. I continuously left a large amount of clay at the bottoms of my pots causing them to be extremely heavy and not very aesthetically pleasing. In truth, this is very typical of beginner potters. When first starting out, you create a bowl, pulling up the walls two or three times, gaining a little height each pull. But then you stop. You’re very happy and delighted with what you have created, and frankly, too scared to pull the walls up any further in fear of ruining pot. You are willing to “settle” for this pot you have made, all because of fear.
Fear. Do not let it control you. This is exactly the reason I created heavy pot after heavy pot. But I knew if I wanted to throw taller, lighter pots that I needed to push further. I need to push past that fear. I needed to risk ruining my pot. I needed to allow myself to ruin my pot, as hard as that was going to be.
So I went back to the wheel, focused on making taller pots. I was determined. I had my wooden ruler by my side and I would measure the height of my pot after each pull. The first two or three pulls were great, gaining significant height with each one. But as I continued to pull up, I noticed that my pot really was not gaining any further height. Sometimes the pots got wider, sometimes they just stayed the same height as the previous pull. I knew there was still a lot of clay at the bottom of my pot, I was just being too timid. I was afraid to really dig in and gather that clay. It can be very disheartening when your pot collapses. It almost makes you lose all hope. But in order to make taller pots, you need to be capable of pushing further. You must be capable of collecting some of that extra clay at the bottom of your pot and pulling it up into your wall. So I dug into the bottom of my pot as my clay spun around. I pushed in from the outside against my inside finger until I was certain I had gathered a significant amount of that extra clay. And slowly I started to pull up, and my pot was getting dramatically taller. It gained about 2 inches of height in that pull. So I did another pull. Just like the last one, I pressed in at the bottom with my outside finger and gathered the clay. I began pulling up that lump of clay, moving slowly but steadily up the side of the pot, until….yup. I flopped it. After a few chosen four letter words and regaining my composure, I forced myself to examine the flopped pot. I forced myself to learn from my mistake and understand exactly what went wrong.
So lets review some techniques for gaining height in your pots. First off, the best advice I can give is “BREATHE”. Be certain not to hold your breath while pulling up the walls. Take deep, calming breaths. As you are beginning a pull, you need to be sure you have actually gathered some clay from the bottom of the pot to pull up into the wall. This requires some patience and practice. You should be able to see the lump of clay that you have gathered prior to starting to pull up, like a little bulge in the clay. That bulge of clay must be above your outside finger and below your inside finger. You are actually pushing that lump of clay up the wall of your pot with your outside finger. Allow your inside finger to guide and stabilize the clay and provide a little counter pressure. You need to allow yourself to spend a little time at the very bottom of the pot. Allow your wheel to make several rotations while you are pushing inward from the outside of the pot, and applying some counter pressure with your other hand/fingers on the inside of the pot. And be certain your outside fingers are at the very bottom of the pot, because again, this is where all that extra clay is that you can pull up. It may be a good practice to start with your outside finger on the bat (or wheel head) and then sweep it in to touch the clay. That way you know you are at the very bottom.
If you are using a larger amount of clay, I would say at least two pounds or more, then you could try the knuckle technique. I would suggest this if you feel that your finger may not be strong enough. Start by bending your index finger, then use your knuckle to push in at the bottom of the pot and gather some of the bulk of clay. Again, allow yourself time, several rotations of the wheel, while pushing in with your knuckle. at the bottom. Your inside hand, or fingers, should be guiding and stabilizing the clay, and providing a little counter pressure against your knuckle on the outside of the pot. As you begin to pull up, your hands must stay in a smooth, continuous motion up the side of your pot. You cannot stop and linger in any area or you will create a thin area on the wall. That thin area may not be able to hold the weight of the clay above it and your wall could potentially collapse. Try to keep the same amount of pressure between your inside and outside fingers all the way up, then gently releasing some pressure as you near the rim of the pot. Eventually, your pulls may require less and less pressure as your wall gets thinner. I do not use this technique as it has never been comfortable for me. But try it and see if it works for you.
As you continue to practice pulling taller walls, you need to be able to “learn from your mistakes”. If you ruin a pot, learn from it. If your pot flops, and it will, look closely at the walls. Are they thicker on one side than the other? If so, your clay was not centered. It may have started off being centered, but it is very easy to knock your pot off center while opening your clay or during the first couple of pulls. Are your walls thick at the bottom and thin near the rim? Your walls should be the same thickness throughout so the rims of your pots don’t get too thin. Try adjusting the pressure you are using as you pull up the wall; more pressure while near the bottom of the pot, then lessening the pressure a little as you move up toward the top of the rim. And remember, your pull must be a continuous, smooth motion. A “stop and start” jerky motion will create unstable, uneven wall thickness and may create thinner areas that can lead to your pot collapsing. And be patient with yourself. You are your best teacher. Throwing taller pots may not happen immediately, but with continued practice, you’ll get there. Don’t try to go from making a six inch tall pot to making a 12 inch tall pot. Work on the in between. Focus on making a pot one inch taller than your tallest pot. Once you have achieved that, then try for another inch. Little by little, you will create taller pots and you will learn along the way. Find the technique that works best for you and try to perfect it.
Whatever method you use to pull up your walls, be certain that the lump or bulge of clay is above your outside finger and below your inside finger, allowing you to push the lump of clay up the wall of your pot. Additionally, and this is so important, make sure your hands are connected so both hands are working together as one unit, controlling the clay as you move up the side of the pot.
Another great way to create a tall pot is to throw 2 sections and then put them together. For this technique you would throw a pot on the wheel, keeping your walls a little thicker than normal. Additionally, your rim needs to be thicker as well so you can create a good connection when putting the two pieces together. Your second wheel thrown piece needs to be the same diameter opening and the same thicker rim, however, it will not have a bottom on it. After they dry up just a little bit, you will turn the bottomless piece upside down on top of the first wheel thrown piece. Be certain to slip and score the rims so your attachment is secure. Once the two pieces are together, you can then continue to work and shape them as one tall piece. It’s a little tricky at first but with some practice you can get the hang of it.
Throwing a pot on the wheel is not the only way to create a tall pot. My final suggestion for making a tall pot is to hand build it from a slab of clay. This is my absolute favorite way to create tall pots. The possibilities are endless with this technique. These can also be built in sections as like with wheel thrown pots, helping to create more shape and form to them. Many times I will create these tall pots in side sections (left picture) and then put them together. Creating a pot from a slab of clay makes it easy to add texture to your pot as well. I love to roll out a large slab of clay and randomly draw a tall bottle shape on the clay. I then cut it out with a needle tool, flip it over onto the remaining slab of clay and cut out the reverse shape of the bottle. These two sides of my bottle will then be placed on a ware board to dry a little. Once they reach a soft leather hard, you can put them on a thick piece of foam and start to shape them, or curl them around a cardboard tube form. Any way you can begin to shape and create some soft curves and roundness. And don’t forget to shape the neck of the bottle. Once the two pieces are dried to leather hard with a little flexibility, put them together by slipping and scoring. Start by standing them up and putting the bottom edges together, then the shoulders, then the neck. Go back and complete putting the sides together, creating a smooth seam. Then you can place your bottle on a piece of rolled out clay and trace around it to add a bottom to your bottle. Once it is dried to a hard leather hard stage, you can clean up the edges and refine the bottle.
You can decide for yourself which method you wish to try. Or try them all to see which one works best for you. But absolutely do not allow yourself to get frustrated. Do not give up if your first attempt does not prove fruitful. Learn from what you think went wrong. Try to figure out why the piece did not come out as you had intended. Continue to try again, and again until you create what you had envisioned in your head. Remember, it’s just clay. It’s just dirt. You can trash it and start over. The clay can be reclaimed to use again if your piece does not turn out the way you had wished. And be patient. No one learned to do pottery overnight. It takes time. It takes practice. It takes a calm mind. You need to permit yourself to screw up, without judgement. You need to grant yourself the ability to learn from the mistakes you will make. And you need to enjoy the journey. Take pictures of your pots. Or better yet, fire your pots. Keep them to reflect back on and show your progress. And most importantly, don’t criticize yourself. There is beauty in every pot.
Be kind to yourself, be kind to others, be kind to the Earth
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