Hot Ceramics & Pottery How-Tos

How To: Throw a beer tankard

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to throw a beer tankard using clay and your pottery wheel. This helpful how-to video contains detailed instructions that are good for beginner to intermediate potters who have used a wheel before but have never thrown a beer tankard.

How To: Throw a large vessel

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to throw a large vessel on your pottery wheel. The detailed instructions in this helpful how-to video are best for intermediate potters who have some experience but have never made larger vessels.

How To: Remove work from the hump

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to take your work off the hump. The detailed instructions in this helpful how-to video are good for intermediate potters. Removing your work from the hump will be easy after you've watched this instructional video.

How To: Decorate little cups

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn some different ways to decorate little cups and other pottery. The cups used are leather-hard. You should start with a base color and then paint designs over it. The detailed instructions in this how-to video are helpful to any potter who wants to decorate his or her pottery, particulary little cups.

How To: Make goblets

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to make goblets start to finish, including the throwing, trimming, and putting together. Use thick clay to make your goblet so it doesn't have to be really thick to stand up on its own. The detailed instructions in this helpful how-to video will help intermediate potters make beautiful goblets in no time.

How To: Make handles

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to make handles out of clay for other pieces of pottery. The detailed instructions in this helpful how-to video are easy enough for beginners to follow, and there is no pottery wheel necessary to make these handles.

How To: Make a plate

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to quickly make a plate on your pottery wheel. The detailed instructions in this helpful how-to video will allow intermediate potters to quickly make plates on their pottery wheels.

How To: Make double-walled and donut pieces

Watch this ceramics video tutorial to learn how to make double-walled and donut pieces, especially teapots. This technique is trite, but can lead to better ideas. The detailed instructions in this how-to video are best for intermediate potters and will have you making nice double-walled and donut pottery in no time.

How To: Make a wiggle cup or spiral bowl

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to make a wiggle cup, a loose spiral bowl similar to a faceted bowl used mainly with wood firing. The detailed instructions in this helpful how-to video will allow intermediate to advanced potters to make wiggle cups or loose spiral bowls.

How To: Make faceted pottery

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to make faceted pottery using some common faceting methods such as wire cut faceting. The detailed instructions in this helpful how-to video are geared toward intermediate potters and will allow you to make pretty faceted pottery.

How To: Make ceramic lidded vessels

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to make smaller lidded vessels with your pottery wheel. Throw the lid first because it's easier to make the pot fit the lid than the other way around. The detailed instructions in this helpful how-to video will allow intermediate potters to make nice lidded vessels.

How To: Throw a little pot

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to throw and form little pots on your pottery wheel. Making a little pot is the same as making a big pot, just on a smaller scale. This instructional video will have you throwing beautiful little pots in no time.

How To: Pull tall cylinders

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to pull tall cylinders out of clay using your pottery wheel. This how-to video is not for beginners, but it features detailed instructions and explanations. You'll be throwing and pulling tall cylinders for vases and other types of pottery in no time after watching this instructional video.

How To: Make a goblet stem

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to throw a goblet stem on a pottery wheel. This instructional video is not for beginners, but it does include very detailed explanations and instructions. This how-to video will have you throwing beautiful goblet stems in no time.

How To: Put together a teapot

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to put together a teapot by trimming the lid, sticking the parts together, and pulling the handle. You'll be able to put together very professional-looking teapots in no time using the tips from this how-to video. This instructional video is not for beginners.

How To: Wedge clay before throwing it

This is a slow and and detailed how-to video on wedging your clay before throwing it on the wheel. This is especially good because doing this allows you to get rid of the air bubbles in your clay. This instructional video will teach you how to wedge your clay before throwing it in order to get the best results.

How To: Throw a vase neck

Watch this ceramics tutorial video to learn how to throw a vase neck using clay and a pottery wheel. This how-to video is not for beginners as it assumes a certain degree of skill. You'll be throwing vase necks like a pro using the tips offered in this instructional video.

How To: Attach a vase neck to a pot

For more complicated pottery pieces, it's not possible to make the entire pot at once, but rather make two pieces to be attached later. This video pottery making tutorial shows how to attach a vase neck onto a pot. See as the two pieces are scored and sewn together. Learn how to attach a neck onto pot made out of ceramic clay by watching this instructional video.

How To: Wedge and Knead a Piece of Clay for Pottery Making

Wedging and kneading is essential before throwing clay on a pottery wheel, or shaping by hand, in order to get rid of air bubbles that may cause the pottery to explode while firing in the kiln. There are many different techniques to wedge and knead, but this video ceramic design tutorial shows how to wire cut wedge and spiral knead a piece of clay. Learn how to wedge and knead a piece of clay for pottery making by watching this instructional video.

How To: Reuse clay scrap

This video pottery making tutorial shows how to go about reusing trimmings and slop from the clay forming process. Once clay has been fired, it can't be made workable clay again, but slip and clay trimmings can. Learn how to reuse clay scarp by watching this instructional tutorial.

How To: Make and mix glazes for ceramic pottery

This video ceramic design tutorial offers a very basic introduction to ceramic pottery glazes and glaze mixing methods. Glazes are a glass paint that are applied onto a piece of pottery to provide a beautiful finish, color, and shine to the ceramic project. Learn how to make and mix glazes for ceramic pottery at home by watching this instructional video.

How To: Mix your own clay at home

This video tutorial shows how to mix your own clay body. Covered are the basic types of clay, fluxes, and fillers. When testing clay body mixtures, make 1000 gram batches dry, then add water to that. This way a percentage recipe can be taken and just by moving the decimal point can convert it to grams (25% = 25 grams or 250 grams, etc). Here is a clay-body recipe is as follows for those of who might care. Also, much of the mixture of a clay body is designed to match the glazes. It needs to me...

How To: Use a potter's wheel and throw pottery

Those looking to begin making pottery, will benefit from the instruction provided by this video pottery tutorial. Center the clay, force the clay to mold to your hand rather than molding the clay, and start throwing pottery. Learn how to use a potter's wheel and begin working with ceramics by watching this instructional video.

How To: Decorate pottery with slip

This is a video tutorial using B-3 brown slip to decorate bisque-ware. The slip is just throw water from an earlier project, so this technique is a creative way to use all materials available without waste. Learn how to decorate pottery with slip by watching this video ceramic design tutorial.