I never thought I could. But I see other potters doing it every day! Where might this strange phenomenon be happening every day? At a production studio of course! I was recently hired on as a potter throwing for a family-run production pottery company called Deneen Pottery!
At first, things didn’t go so well. I felt like I could hardly throw. Pots were falling over and ripping to pieces. It was like being in beginning ceramics all over again.
But with some dedication and hard work, some pots began making it out alive. These pots were not great by any means, but were encouraging for me to see as they were at least still standing.
This picture was taken just a few days ago. Finally I am feeling like there is some REAL progress being made. I can throw faster, better, and I am learning about how to listen to my body with posture, proper leg height, and other things I hadn’t normally thought too much about.
Some nice rolled mugs. Kind of sculptural, right? At least all the clay I am practicing with is recycled and mixed up to be used again later.
It has been a great learning experience thus far! I am hopeful that someday I will be able to throw a massive amount of pots like the other potters at Deneen do. It is incredible watching them throw 200+ pots every day. And inspiring.
Yo tambien necesito incrementar la producción al doble sin bajar la calidad , estaré intentando , 200 para mi es escesivo por el tiempo que dispongo , tambien pasar de ver a la ceramica de un pasatiempo realmente bello a un oficio de verdad ,saludos
200 pots a day! Woosh! That’s some throwing at a rate of 1 pot every 2 or 3 minutes. I think I’ll stick to my 6 pots in an hour and a half. A friend once worked with a potter in Warrandyte Melbourne VIC Australia. When the potter made coffee mugs (on an electric wheel), he would prepare 100 balls of stoneware clay, then throw all 100 mugs in 1 hour, at a rate of 1 every 36 seconds! He once threw on a kick wheel, but later went for the speed of an electric wheel to meet his commercial needs. But all very interesting, Phillip. Cheers. Andrew.
Thanks Andrew. It was about that fast, the easiest pot was about 30 seconds to throw down, center, cut off, and get the next one going. Some were much slower compared to that, a few minutes per pot. It really depended on height and shape. I would listen to books on my phone and I got through so many novels, it was awesome.