SIMON LEACH - 7 steps to making a cylinder !

hello everybody welcome Simon leach here welcome to studio here my in Berryville and what have I got for you right now well I thought what I'd like to do is just go through some very basic steps on how to throw a cylinder basic but fundamental so why don't you join me I'm going to set up the camera right here next to my my wheel it's just going to adjust the picture here so the we're right there we are now I want to go through and make for you various models to show you the progression of shapes to making a cylinder so let's go so the first thing we got to do obviously is Center the clay so what I want to do is bring up the clay like like that okay so we're going to call that shape number one as usual I'm organized and I don't seem to have my cutoff wire hang on you're right with you got it I was over there doing some wedging net for my wire over there so first thing to do is coat it up like that okay so what we're going to do is we're going to cut that fell off all right so we're going to call that number one right let's go number two and also try and talk through this as I get said we had number one which was that now we're going to go to number two and within it get it to that shape so I just pushed it down and don't forget Center it right at the base the clay right at the base on the wheel head there okay okay cut him off in my experience and this is so important to learn how to throw a cylinder so many people you know you have to develop your own technique I do workshops and I teach people and I don't like to try to alter people's technique I try to take them from where they are however it doesn't hurt to have a few basic things to aim for because sometimes people don't know quite what to aim for so there was number one and then we took it to to that which was number two all right now we're going to go go in now people are taught in different ways but some people want to go straight down and drop a vertical hole I don't actually do that I tend to go in with my thumb and maybe one or two fingers okay and go down until I get a v-shape like that because I find a V a V shape all right keeps keeps it on center I don't know any of you if you've tried to sink a vertical hole down sometimes the hole is not quite in the middle you lose it somehow so I found by going in more in a v-shape like that and I go into the as deep as I think is required for the fitness of the base straightaway okay so there we are right there cut that one off he's number three okay so now number four so number one is to turn it up number two is to push the point of the cone down spread it out okay and try to get a nice round shape I sound trim at the base now going in just like I explained in a shape of a and shape of the V like that okay now what I want to do is move the clay from the center out alright pushing from the center to the side all right so what I'm going to do is I'm just going to just clean it off a little bit on the side here just to facilitate me being able to lift it off because at this stage well if you get also when you when you go to lift off a pot two things make sure one at the outside of the pot is free from slurry also make sure your hands are free from slurry okay I get it did I cut it don't think I do cut him now you can peel it off like that you see all right number four all right let's do that again so number one cone number two push down that code a point to the cone push him down to get a nice shape by that leave them off with a wheel head that's number two number three I'm going to go in in the form of the of the okay now we're going to push the clay out from the center push out okay that gave gives us number four the next thing I do is I close it in like that you see what that I've made it a collar Diddley and effectively all right again I gotta have to just clean this a little bit just to help me get him off of course I wouldn't do i wouldn't clean him in the processor of making a cylinder is only to help me get him off the weight right so that is number five now try and lift him off okay number five now number six so number one konima number to push that code down and flatten them out clean them off at the base alright that's number two number three going into the depth that I require in the form of a V like that it's number three number four push the play out something is making a noise here all right so he pushed in out now what we're going to do is we're going to we're going to call him in now next thing is things are going to go in here my two middle fingers and using my two middle fingers on the outside a bear in mind that the inside on the outside the heights are going to be slightly different because the thickness of the base is going to be the difference in a height so now at this point I push in here with my fingers to create that lift because that's what I'm going to carry up into the into that turn shape okay right cut him off now the DPD what fun is basic stuff you see but I find so many people have real difficulty in the ability to throw a simple cylinder they struggle with it and so long as you're struggling it making a cylinder you're going to be forever struggling so crack that one and you'll be you'll be all set so now this is going to be the last one hope I've got enough lots of clay so let's go through it again number one : number two flatten off right we're down to the base next one go in in the form of the next one push the clay out now you can push it out wider than what you think your cylinder that you're going to make is going to be okay that's that that's number four number five collar him in now do by colouring him in like that you are setting the tone as it were setting the scene because as you lift the clay upwards the pot wants to open so by keeping it like that you were already setting the scene to to keep it in at the top all right also if you can think about it my fingers that are on the inside have got because of the cony shape they've got something to lift against right now we're going to push in and now we're going to take that clay straight up keeping it cylindrical okay so that's where we got to that was number number six now I'm going to be in one final pushing in and lifting up again I'm taking the clay right up into the cylinder okay well that's it now just showing you that very basically I might I might have done one more lift up there but I'm not going to if I want to keep this simple now what you want to do is take your stick you want to put in an undercut okay now that's very important and remember to do that nothing worse than seeing pots that colorful where with a sharp corner on the base there because they didn't put in an undercut so put in the undercut then also use your your your stick here when you when you use your stick don't put it flat against the pot like that put it at an angle like that so it's touching first but the base here if I can I can demonstrate that and now I'm going to just touch the pot there all the way up like that and that just is cleaning off the slurry very important if you want to be able to get the pot off the wheel a lot of people again so used to throwing on bats that they don't they're not used to lifting a wet pot off the wheel well that's something you need to learn how to do now using a chamois here just on the rim we're just going to just hold the chamois over the rim but don't apply any pressure okay a little bit takes a bit of a practice that to hold it and to apply the chamois because it's a bit of a slippery felony he wants to try and get out your hand all right now if there's any water left down the bottom of the pot you've got a sponge on a stick you can put that down then actually happen to have one here or you can take two things like that and a sponge and you can just if there happens to be any any water down there that needs clearing when to do it okay so we know that coming off okay and that is the seventh model now when you lift off the cylinder dry your hands make sure the outside the pod is clean hold the cylinder like that and just lift it towards you and it should just release you see like that lift it first on one side and then okay so that's that nothing put him down over there right now then let's just have these up here for us to see once again just going to take the camera and there we have it having folks the different models there that show one the cone - a bit like a mushroom going in like a V open him up wide okay cone him in bring up the cone and finally the cylinder there at the end of the finished cylinder okay folks well thank you for joining us here in Berryville for this short clip on how to make a cylinder and the different stages that that presents Simon litre saying keep practicing see

Channel: Simon Leach

Views: 197,802

Rating: 4.9235296 out of 5

Keywords: cylinders, throwing, practicing, leach, new, york, barryville, usa, clay, kiln, bisq, firing, art, craft, teacher, TV, show, tour, young

Id: DU-VE1wnRGw

Length: 15min 3sec (903 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 12 2009