Miriam Ash

I learned this the hard way the other day!!! I have been recycling a lot of clay with all my mistakes.

I am throwing in my own studio so I don't have access to a heat gun I am going to try a more aggressive trimming though.

This is SO helpful, thank you!!!! I am just getting used to throwing again (I took a 2 year break) but once I have the hang of it again I plan to work on repeat forms. I actually got a glass egg easter decoration that looked like the tool you posted and it worked well for some mugs I threw recently.

I have tried the water trick! I have also been having issues where my pots are drying very unevenly. The outside dries quickly and the foot dries very slowly so I thought maybe the water on the underside might be the culprit. I tried flipping it as quickly as possible and lost a few pots because they weren't ready. I also tried just wrapping the rim which worked a bit better.

I love the idea of a tapered tool but Bill Van Gilder's is sold out. Can you give me some examples of plastic containers you use?

I have the Mudtools wire but not the squiggly one. I will give that a try too!

What masonite bats do you recommend?

I have noticed timing is everything! Until now I have been a part of a studio and so I had different habits that lent itself to better timing- for example, I set a piece aside after throwing it and let it dry for a bit without being wrapped. In my own studio I can come and go with more frequency so I end up wrapping my pieces earlier. I do wire twice, once right after I throw and once when I am trying to lift the piece from the bat. I have been using cups, bottle, etc to try to restore the shape. I had no idea this tapering tool existed! Will have to try that too.

I haven't- at what stage do you do this? Do I just use a regular piece of printer paper?

I have always struggled with getting my pieces off the wheel cleanly. Here are some of my issues. 1) When I throw directly on the wheel the piece warps either when I try to lift it off or when I set it down. I've tried the pot lifters and I have issues with those too. 2) When I throw on my plastic bats I have a lot of trouble removing them when they are leather hard. They stick firmly to the bat. Once I get them off I put them on a tile lined with wet newspaper which seems to prevent sticking. Any advice? Thanks! Miriam