Overview

With this essential guide from one of the UK’s leading contemporary studio potters, learn how to throw clay on the wheel. While a potter shaping clay on the wheel is both the iconic and familiar image we associate with ceramics, the skill is notoriously hard to learn. Using step-by-step photos and illustrations, Rebecca Proctor shows you how to master the potter’s wheel. With an emphasis on craftsmanship, Throwing Clay demonstrates the specific techniques required to make a range of elegant modern tableware – mugs, jugs and plates as well as vases and more complex forms such as teapots. In addition, Proctor shares her insights on the art and practice of pottery and conducts interviews with other contemporary makers from around the world. Including a combination of projects and gorgeous inspirational photographs, Throwing Clay is the ultimate guide for complete beginners and advanced ceramicists alike.

Full Product Details

Author:   Rebecca Proctor
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Herbert Press Ltd
Dimensions:   Width: 18.80cm , Height: 1.40cm , Length: 24.40cm
Weight:   0.620kg
ISBN:  

9781789943535

ISBN 10:   1789943531
Pages:   192
Publication Date:   26 February 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Introduction Why throw pottery? Not just how but why? Form and function, skill, repetition, meditation. Tools The necessary tools. Different types of wheels. Clay How to prepare clay for throwing on the wheel. Centring The most important step in all wheel-thrown pottery. Cylinders Step-by-step guide on how to throw a cylinder. Mugs How to pull and attach a handle to a cylinder. Jugs How to make a pouring spout creating a jug. Bowls How to throw a bowl. Plates Attaching a batt. Throwing a plate. Trimming How to trim. Vases Forming curves and creating vases. Lidded jar Making a lid. Teapot Making a teapot. Striving for Beauty Looking at form and considering decoration, glaze and firing. Next steps – throwing off the hump or throwing big. Taking Care Drying and looking after your pots. Recycling clay. Glossary Index

Reviews

This is an informative and well deigned book and should be on every potters bookshelf. * Emerging Potters *

Author Information

Rebecca Proctor is a potter and pottery teacher specialising in wheel-thrown ceramics. Frequently commissioned by chefs and stylists, her tableware is used in some of Britain’s finest restaurants, as well as being found in homes around the world. Prior to making pottery, Proctor worked as a design writer and author. A lifelong fascination with craftsmanship led her to making pots as well as writing about them.

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