Pottery Basics: Opening For Cylinders

Opening clay on the potters wheel is just what it sounds like. You create an “opening” that is the beginning of any pottery shape. I think the way it is done determines if your piece will be successful, or not. I think about opening clay on the potters wheel in two distinctly different ways. The first way, and the topic of this video is opening for a cylinder with flat bottom and vertical walls. This type of shape is the beginning of many types of pots, like vases, pitchers and some jar shapes. The walls and bottom need to form something approaching a 90 deg. Angle. The second way to open is for bowls and volume type shapes, think egg shapes. I address this topic in “Opening for Bowls And Volumes”. Watch this video to learn how to open correctly for cylindrical shapes and set your self up for pottery success!

Hi there! I’m Adam and I teach pottery at www.patreon.com/spectorstudiosporcelain. You can also find me @spectorstudiosporcelain on IG. For more free instructional pottery content SUBSCRIBE! For many complete series on making many different pottery forms from start to finish, join my Patreon!