What to expect at your first wheel-throwing session

People arrive at the first wheel-throwing session with a range of expectations. Some have watched a lot of videos and think they know roughly what to do. Some have never seen a wheel in person. Both groups usually find that the reality is different from what they imagined, and that is fine. This is what actually happens in a three-hour introduction at Fresh Citadel.

The first hour: centring ¶

Centring is the part that surprises most beginners. It looks easy in videos because experienced potters do it quickly and without visible effort. In practice, it requires applying steady, even pressure from two directions at once while the wheel spins, and it takes most people the better part of an hour to get a consistent result.

Sakura demonstrates centring once at the start of the session and then works with each person individually. The groups are small, a maximum of four people, so she can spend time with each person rather than giving a general demonstration and stepping back. She will correct your hand position, adjust your body posture, and tell you when you are fighting the clay rather than working with it.

• Wear clothes you do not mind getting clay on
• Tie back long hair
• Remove rings and bracelets before sitting at the wheel
• Bring a change of top if you are going somewhere after the session

Opening and pulling ¶

Once the clay is centred, you open it by pressing down into the middle and then pulling the walls up. This is the part that feels most like the videos. It is also the part where most beginners lose their centring, because the clay is now hollow and more vulnerable to wobble.

By the end of the session most people have pulled up one or two cylinders that hold their shape. They will not be perfectly even, and they will probably not be as tall as you hoped. That is a normal first result. The goal of the introduction is to understand the sequence of steps and to feel what the clay is doing, not to produce a finished piece.

After the session ¶

Sakura selects the best piece from your session, trims the foot ring when the clay is leather-hard, and fires it in the next bisque batch. The piece goes through a second glaze firing after that. Most pieces are ready to collect within four to five weeks of the class date. You will receive an email when it is ready.

The studio does not post pieces from classes. Collection is in person at the gallery on a Saturday, or by arrangement on a weekday.

If you are wondering whether the introduction is the right starting point or whether the hand-building afternoon might suit you better, the quiz on the website can help you think it through, or you can email Sakura with a question.