Course: How to Pull Up The Walls of a Pot — A Beginner's Guide, Topic: Step 11: Avoiding Thin Walls

Topic outline

Introduction
- Select activity After a lump of clay has been centered and the bas...
  
  After a lump of clay has been centered and the base formed, the next step in the process is pulling up the walls of the pot and doing that is the topic of this tutorial in which I'll discuss how to pull up the walls alongside showing you any tips and tricks I have together with showing you what to avoid to hopefully get your throwing to a point where you can quickly, evenly, and confidently pull the walls up on the pots you're making. It’s worth noting that this tutorial won't go over centering or opening up and forming the base of your lump of clay as I've already covered those topics in great detail in the two previous tutorials. Both centering and opening up the clay correctly are undeniably important parts of this process and if you attempt to pull the walls up on a pot that's centered poorly or opened up incorrectly you'll only make this next step of pulling the walls up all the more difficult. So let's begin.

Step 11: Avoiding Thin Walls
- Select activity 11.1 If as you're pulling up you linger in one spo...
  
  11.1
  If as you're pulling up you linger in one spot for too long, you may create a weak point as the clay thins beneath your fingers and collapses down slightly.
- Select activity 11.2 Although in a different spot, this is what a ...
  
  11.2
  Although in a different spot, this is what a thin region can look like in comparison to the rest of the wall, and if this occurs lower down, the weight of the walls above it can be enough to cause the lower section to crumple and collapse.
- Select activity 11.3 This is also something that's more likely to ...
  
  11.3
  This is also something that's more likely to happen if you've spent a very long time throwing the same cylinder, because as you progressively add more and more water, the clay slowly becomes saturated, it degrades, and becomes weak.
- Select activity 11.4 A cylinder like this really shouldn't take mo...
  
  11.4
  A cylinder like this really shouldn't take more than two or three minutes to make.
- Select activity 11.5 If they are taking you 10 or 15 minutes per p...
  
  11.5
  If they are taking you 10 or 15 minutes per piece, then there's a chance the clay you're working with is already too saturated and therefore structurally the clay will be weaker, and you'll have a more difficult time making the pot.