If you used a wooden bat, it’s easy. You just take the bat off of the wheel and let the clay dry. Once it’s dry, your pot will come off easily. But what if you’ve made your pot directly on the pottery wheel? Ok, you could let your work dry on the pottery wheel, but that would mean that you can’t use the wheel for anything else in the meantime. There’s no other way around it: you have to get that pot off of the wheel. And this is how you do it.
Step 1: Clean your pot
If you’ve only just finished throwing a pot, then there is usually a layer of clay slip coating it. You should clean that first.
- On the inside of your pot, often a lot of moisture gathers at the bottom. Take a sponge and wring it out well. Let the sponge suck up as much moisture as it can, and repeat until the bottom is as dry as possible. This is a very important step. If you skip it, the moisture might result in the bottom of your pot drying slower than the rest of the clay, and that could lead to cracking.
- The outside of your pot is also covered in a layer of slip. By removing that layer, you can pick up the piece without your fingers sticking to the clay. Use a rib tool for this step. Hold it lightly against the walls of your pot and have the wheel spin gently. Move the tool up and down along the wall until your pot is clean. Make sure you provide the necessary counter-pressure from the inside of the pot.
- Also make sure that the foot of the pot is as dry as possible, and use a sharp instrument to create a small groove in the foot, as close to the wheel as you can. That makes it easier to remove the pot from the wheel. Hold the sharp tool against the wheel and let it spin gently to create the groove.
Step 2: Cut your pot loose
Take your cut-off wire and put tension on it. Start at the side of the pot that is the furthest away, and move the wire under the clay, towards you. Make sure you keep tension on the wire from start to finish. And keep the wire tight against the wheel, so the bottom is cut evenly. Have the wheel spin while you do this. If you feel the pot coming off and starting to move, you’re ready for the next step.
Step 3: Move your pot
Make sure that the spot where you want to put your pot is not too far away from your pottery wheel. If it’s too far, you can move your pot to a wooden bat and safely transport it to the final spot.
Make sure your hands are clean and dry. Take hold of your pot carefully, and as close to the foot of the piece as possible. Move it to the edge of the wheel with a gentle twisting motion. Keep the pressure of your hands even throughout. Carefully slide the pot off the edge and use your hands to support both the bottom and the side of the piece. Never tilt the pot, always keep it upright.
There’s a good chance that your pot will warp a little bit when you move it. A round opening might become slightly more oval for example. But once you put the pot down again, it should regain its proper shape.
For pots that have quite a wide bottom, it might be a good idea to slide the piece onto a palette knife instead of your fingers. Using this method to move your work becomes more difficult the wider the bottom of the pot.
What if something goes wrong?
You followed all the steps but somewhere along the way, something went wrong. And now your pot is no longer round, or it got warped in some other way. In that case, wait a little until the clay has become leather-hard. While your work is still leather-hard, there’s a good chance that you can still fix the mistake.
If your pot lost its round opening, you can try this trick. Take a look at the round pots and bowls you’ve made in the past. Select one that has a similar size and shape, and fit it into your warped pot, to use as a sort of mould. By lightly pushing and twisting the pot or bowl, you can recreate the round opening of your new work.
If there are small bumps or imperfections, you can sometimes fix them with a damp sponge. Be careful when trying these methods, and make sure your hands are clean so you don’t create new blemishes.
These methods can really come in clutch, but you won’t be able to save every pot. In those cases you’ll have to start over. But take heart: just like with everything else in the pottery making process, practice makes perfect!
