#potterytips

You’ll thank me later. Pottery is all about finding support points from everywhere. Elbows hooked to your body and thighs. Hand hooked to your elbows. Fingers hooking on your hands. Once you figure this out centering gets 100% easier. Let me know if this helped you! #pottery #wheelthrowing #ceramics #potterytips #potterytutorial

You see those little raised dots? Not the larger tong marks, but the circular bumps, those are sure sign with this glaze that I’ve applied it too thickly and it’ll crawl during the firing, resulting in rather unseemly patches of bare clay across the surface of the pot, revealed as the glaze separates from itself. This normally happens if I submerge a pot into the glaze for too long and there’s very little you can do to correct it, so, here’s what I do. I fill up a basin of water and drop the glazed vessel into it, this is the same basin I fettle clean glazed wares over, so the excess glaze dust is caught, then eventually, I’ll sieve all this back into my larger buckets of glaze. This way nothing is wasted and even mistakes like this don’t feel so dreadful. I simply wash off as much glaze as possible, rinse the vessels in the sink, then leave them to dry out fully before I attempt glazing them again. #pottery #glazing #potterytips #tutorial #glaze #handmade #asmr

Long nails and pottery don’t always get along. 😣 Even when my nails are short, I’ve noticed that clay particles slowly grind them down while opening. I started keeping my nails a bit longer to protect my nail bed. But if they’re too long? One wrong move and I’ve carved an accidental design into my wall. For a while I thought I just had to choose: nails or clay. Turns out… theres another option!🤩 This wooden tool (yes, the one from the basic pottery kit most of us start with) changed everything for me. The real trick isn’t just using it, it’s where you place your finger. Right at the base of the tool. Move your finger even a few millimeters up the shaft and you lose some leverage. Keep it low and it becomes an extension of your hand. More control. Cleaner openings. Less damage to your nails and your pieces. 🤗 I also love that it creates a crisp 90 degree interior corner at the base, which means less trimming later and more even walls from the start. Most of my favorite tools still come from a basic pottery kit. I really have found that pottery isn’t about buying better tools, (although it can be). But especially if youjust starting out, its more about learning how to use the simple ones, better. 🫶🏼 For the potters who like longer nails sometimes. And for the ones protecting their nail beds 🙋🏻‍♀️ Save this for your next studio day when you forget nail clippers, and share it with a friend who deals with the same thing! 💖 Follow along for the next #tiptuesday ! #potterytips #slowmade #handmadeceramics #beginnerpotter

Most potters don’t realise they’re doing this when pulling a tall cylinder 👀 It can even ruin an otherwise perfect pull. When the inside hand applies too much outward pressure on a tall cylinder, the clay begins to tilt and eventually buckle. This often happens when the inside hand or forearm pushes too hard into the inner walls, it should apply just enough force to stabilise the cylinder during the pull. It’s easy to miss when you’re focused on bringing the clay up, in the rhythm of the pull. Buckling can have several causes, but most of the time it comes down to imbalanced pressure during the pull(or in this case, after). It also happens with overpressure from the outside hand(Pushing in too hard.) Both hands should be guiding the clay upward toward a shared central point: an imaginary point that stays perfectly aligned with the axis of the wheel 🎯 Too much drag or pulling too quickly can also cause buckling, but that’s a topic for another time. ✅ Tips: • When pulling, try to look at the entire cylinder, not just where your hands are. Your eyes should move up and down the form, constantly gathering information and adjusting in real time. (It’s difficult to catch this if you’re rushing through your pulls.) • Throwing in front of a mirror can help if you haven’t tried it. Personally, I prefer throwing without one. Another great option is to film yourself from different angles so you can spot small habits you might not notice while throwing 🎥 Bonus tip of you've read this far: • Sitting too close (or too far) from the wheel changes how your hands & arms moves. Pay attention to each time you're at the wheel. And general body posture. Being too hunched over makes you tense and unable to adapt 😉👍🏼 Filming my own practice and reviewing it later was actually how most of my self-learning happened. It’s also how this account started 4 years ago. ☺️ I hope this helps. When there’s a wobble, it’s always better to address the root cause. But knowing how to fix it is also a valuable skill. I’ll show you how I fixed this in the next video 🙂 have a good day ✨ . . . . . #potterytips #wheelthrowing #tips #potterytechniques #clay

This might be my new preferred way to make a lidded pot, I feel some garlic pots coming on! 🧄 #potterytips #potterytechniques #potteryvideo #potteryvideos #potteryreels #potteryreel #handmadepots #potterystudio #potterystudiolife #ceramicstudio #ceramicartist #instapottery #ukpotter #lifeofapotter #potterythrowing

My secret weapon for trimming... ...is the @hartleyandnoble stay-put rug. It's designed to keep batts in place without needing any clay, but it's also really handy for trimming flat pieces. You wet it slightly, place on the wheel and then centre your pot on top. What's your favourite way to trim? . . . #pottery #handmadepottery #ceramics #handmadeceramics #trimmingpottery #trimmingpots #potterytips #potterygram #potterystudio

Today on Meeker Tips! Always be sure that your bat is securely attached to your wheel head…okay? Simple as that.😆 Ok Bye 👋 #potterytips #wheelthrownceramics #wheelthrowing #whoops #potteryfail

If you hand sign your pieces, listen up! Using a more blunt tip is a game changer for your signature. By grinding (or sanding) down your pin tool, you get a cleaner, more legible signature. If there are any clay pills, simply wait for them to dry and brush them off. Easy fix!!! Let me know if you try it. *please be careful grinding any type of metal. Wear protective eye gear. Safety first!!!!! #incaseyoudidntknow #pottery #potterytips #potteryteacher #ceramics

I found this hack so useful when I had my small wheel where I couldn’t put bats on, especially for bowls! This is great for beginner potters who are figuring out to lift a pot without warping it / for ppl who run out of bats to throw!Hope it helped! Happy Monday! 💕#potteryhacks#potterylove #potterytips#potterytutorial#beginnerpottery #njpotter#potteryhacks #pottergram#ceramicartistica #ceramicsart

Tired of uneven rims? This might be one of the simplest hacks I’ve seen. Using a tooth flosser to level the rim is honestly genius. It gives you a clean, even cut and helps beginners fix one of the most common throwing problems. I might start keeping flossers in the studio for this one. Great tip. #potteryteacherreacts #potterytips #ceramics #potterywheel #claytips ↑

I was told years ago by a male pottery instructor: “you can’t do pottery with acrylic nails”. My response? “challenge accepted.” Now I teach pottery professionally and have developed techniques I can share with other acrylic nail girlies 💅✨ I even invented a new sponge that lets you throw on the wheel even with very long nails! #pottery #acrylicnails #skillissue #howtopottery #potterytips #wheelthrowing #girlboss #potterychallenge @lagolongbeach @dougblechner

Pottery tip! Did you know you can use a pencil in pottery? ✏️ Use it on bisque to create temporary guidelines that burn off in the kiln. Perfect for cleaner lines and more symmetrical details. What do you think of the final result? 😍 #handmadepottery #potterytips #ceramics