The Most Important Part About Throwing Bowls

Video Description

When I first began throwing, it was the bowl that tripped me up most often. At a glance it looks simple, but shaping a clean interior curve without corners or flat spots takes far more control than you’d think. I would often leave the inside a little clumsy, telling myself I could fix it later once the clay had stiffened. This works when I'm only making a few at a time, say the interiors of a larger, more sculptural piece, but as soon as I tried to produce them in larger numbers the habit quickly became a burden to the process. Having to adjust fifty or sixty interiors at the leather-hard stage added hours of avoidable work and made me realise how important it is to throw with intention from the very start—or at least, how important it is to have the skill to be able to do so. That’s the focus of this weekend’s video. I go through the key stages of throwing a straightforward bowl, paying particular attention to how the interior is formed and how to establish that curve as the walls rise. Along the way I share some thoughts on centring the form during the process itself, (after the first pull), and how I collar in a bowls form to gain height if I've let it slump too much. Whether you’re just beginning or you’re looking to refine how you work in series, I hope this breakdown makes the process feel a little more approachable and shows how a small shift in focus at the wheel can save a great deal of time later on. Thanks for watching! 📖 • ORDER MY BOOK: https://geni.us/bymyhands ☕️ • HOW to throw a mug in 10 steps: https://youtu.be/G43vl3RKN5s 🏺 • If you want to learn how to throw a pot, you might like my 'A Beginner's Guide' series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2WJhtTF0eGhQwf8g2LHcom_KrvJpH_JT 📢 • Find out much more about my work here: https://linktr.ee/floriangadsby ⏱ • Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 2:35 - The tools I use 3:54 - 530 grams, thrown to 9.5 cm tall by 16.5 cm wide 5:17 - STEP ONE - centring 7:57 - STEP TWO - opening up 8:43 - STEP THREE - the first pull 11:00 - STEP FOUR - the second pull 11:48 - STEP FIVE - the third, shaping pull 14:50 - STEP SIX - cleaning the interior form 17:43 - STEP SEVEN - chamois leathering the rim 18:22 - STEP EIGHT - scraping clean the skirt of clay 19:14 - STEP NINE - wiring the bowl off the wheel 19:37 - STEP TEN - lifting the bowl off the wheel 21:55 - Clean up *I throw using both a Rohde HMT 500 & 600 potter's wheel and fire using Rohde kilns too, the electric is a TE-200 and the gas kiln is a KG-340. ____ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/floriangadsby/ TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@floriangadsby Website – http://www.floriangadsby.com