Pres

Babs, I have heard in the past that the Asian methods of shaping worked from the top down where as Western world was bottom up.. . . . I really don't know, and FYI I do it both ways, often forming the jar with bottom to top and then back down. . . especially when forming a large jar. best, Pres

Tom, The biggest advice I would give my students came with a hand on hand assistance to the first pull and the second. (Assuming you are RT handed )Create the donut after opening up. That is a donut attached to the wheel head, centered. Then using your left hand with the thumb down at the base of the wheel head on the outside, and the fingers bent to the floor on the inside with the rt hand with a sponge on the roll of the donut. . . . begin squeezing firmly with the thumb and fingers of the lft as you push inward on the roll with the sponge in the rt hand. As you feel the roll going up, ease slightly on the pressure and continue to rise with the roll just above your fingers and thumb. Continue until to the point that you have gone off of the clay. Never stop the pull motion at the top of the pot, always imagining the clay to be 1-2" higher. Second pull, begin with lft on inside, rt with thumb or pointer or whatever edge you use to pull with. Elbows braced against the body leaning to the rt. Firmly squeeze the clay between inside and outside fingers of lft and rt hand. As the roll moves up, ease slightly on pressure again and continue up with the pull as before. The firmly here is important, as that is where thinning the base comes in on a pull. Without firmly squeezing at the base level of the pull, the pull actually starts above the base of the pot leaving a heavier area in the base. You must firmly squeeze that roll on every pull to get it to move out of the base. best advice I have, now practice. . . Pres

Ron, I have seen this excellent video before. One of my ex students showed it to me a few years ago as he had begun using the technique to pull pots. I help with an adult class at the HS and saw him using the technique after I had tried it after seeing the video. I find the inverse on the wrist to be difficult for me, it was not the technique as I found it worked well, it was the pain in the wrist that I would get after using it for a few hours. In the long run I have returned to my finger tip braced with the thumb method of throwing. The biggest take away from this in the long run was his bowl shaping rib. best, Pres

Does this Whiskey cup have a cone in the center? best, Pres

I have a friend that I bowl with, he was having severe health problems, and was finally diagnosed with a blood test for gluten intolerance. Now he has gained back up in weight, eats gluten free, and has gained back his strength. These things hit us as we get older and are weaker to fight them off, and it may be that our bodies reach a peak point where exposure becomes too much. Joseph, if you post the bowls, that would be helpful. If anyone wants to share the print out, go ahead what its here for. Teachers also. Just don't take credit. It would be nice to build a strand of beginning projects to help along those looking to gain/improve wheel skills. best, Pres

Ron, I realized that, just pointing out that for some the need to do things differently is important. I haven't had a full cookie since 2009. I had not thought about ring holders. . . ceramic would work to. Wonder how many Apple Bakers have been re serviced as ring holders. Maybe someone didn't know what it was? best, Pres

Yes Min, the same process is used to throw a juicer for oranges and lemons. You have to start with a larger amount, 2-3# of clay. Center, and then follow pretty much the same, but make the center hole larger and pull to a low domed cone, then use ribs to make rounder. You can then do one of two after forming the bowl. use wet rib to put drain lines on the dome, or leave till later and carve. Before removing from the wheel add a pour spout to remove the liquid. The technique works in all sorts of ways. best, Pres

Might for those of you that don't worry about the extra carbs that the crust added does. However, for me with T2 diabetes that I control with a tight diet and exercise, those crusts would kick my numbers into outer space. So I do the baked apple instead. Even if you don't use it, try it for a wheel throwing exercise. best, Pres

Baking apples. . . Tablespoon of water, teaspoon of butter, spices-I use cinnamon and ginger, sweetener(sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey), as a diabetic I use none, others(nuts, granola, etc) Liquor(?) Apple baked 7 1/2 minutes in microwave oven. 40 minutes will work in a regular oven. Great Winter desert.

A few thoughts on Apple Baker The throwing skills here are similar to a bowl as it is a wide flared cylinder with a second interior cone wall. This form will expand your throwing skills.

Thanks for the help Joseph that would be helpful. Have you ever thrown an apple baker? best Pres

Hi folks, I have been thinking a lot of late of the types of things that would be good experiences for beginning throwers, withing to improve their throwing skills. so a few listings of ideas in this thread would be helpful for anyone wishing to develop greater throwing skills and control on the wheel. Basic 9" cylinder with 3# of clay. This should have a flat bottom, evenly compressed, side walls tapering slightly in thickness to the rim that should be slightly thicker than the side walls at the top. Cut several vertically in half to gauge your progress using a cutting wire from the base to the top. 8" diameter bowl with 3# of clay. Remember that a true bowl has a rounded interior, so when opening up develop a rounded bottom instead of a flat bottom as in the cylinder. Again cut several of these in half to check progress. Always remember that a bowl will need extra thickness at the base to support the outer walls from collapsing. 10" plate with 3# of clay. Begin using softer clay, and make careful compression across the area of the plate, as the biggest problem with plates is the lack of compression causing "s" shaped cracks. Basic + Hump Vessel- small cup off of tennis ball size piece of clay. Throw several off of a 4-6# Ball of clay, center the entire ball as much as possible into a cone, then center the top portion of the cone into a tennis ball size, well centered. Throw a cylinder shape, use a rib to define the base, and cut from wheel with a cutting wire, and remove to a bat. Repeat until all of the ball is used up. Bowl-throw several bowls using a baseball sized ball of clay off of a 4-6# hump of clay. Try to make the form a bowl shape, cut and remove as in the vessel, and check progress. Apple baker-Start this form with a baseball sized piece of clay. Open the form as in a bowl, slightly away from center leaving a center stem area. Open the center stem area and pull upwards into narrow cone, close the cone with your fingers, necking inward. Then finish shaping the outer bowl area. cut and remove from the wheel. Check progress with these also to assess the two pulled shapes in the single form. These are just thoughts and I wouldn't have had the apple baker in this list until lately. However, I do believe that the simplicity and complexity of the form will help to improve throwing skills of anyone wishing to advance their skill level. Please feel free to add projects that you believe that will advance throwing skills for a beginner, intermediate, or advanced thower. best, Pres

Marcia, Staying at the William Penn. best, Pres