Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
#35 Dont forget the rim
33 Plays3 years ago
On this episode of Shaping Your Pottery we talk about the rim. The rim is often over looked but it is a crucial part to making pottery.
What You Will Learn On This Episode:
How to make a good rim
How a good rim can make the pot have a completed look
How it actually protects your from breaking as easy
and so much more
if you have any pottery questions send them to us on Instagram @nictorres_pottery
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Pottery Skills with Nick Torres
00:00:01
Speaker
If you love pottery and want to take your skills to the next level, you're in the right place. Find your own pottery style right here on Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. Let's get started.
The Importance of Pottery Rims
00:00:14
Speaker
What is up my pottery shapers and welcome to Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. In this episode, you're going to be learning about the rim. One of the most overlooked things in pottery is the rim.
00:00:27
Speaker
The reason why it's overlooked is because we're going too fast and we tend to overlook this tiny little detail, but a good rim can really help shape the rest of the pot that you're making. And in this episode, I'll explain to you how to make a good rim and what makes a good rim. So before I get to the steps, allow me to tell you a little story.
Learning from Experience: Story of the Rounded Rims
00:00:51
Speaker
Maybe about a couple of years ago, I was
00:00:53
Speaker
looking to try to improve my pottery, looking to kind of find anything that I can get in my hands. So I found somebody that kind of lived near me and he was making pottery. So I reached out and I just wanted to kind of talk to him, just kind of pick his brain a little bit. And I remember he was showing me around and he mentioned that he always makes his rims rounded because it prevents the rim from
00:01:23
Speaker
really breaking easier. So it makes it harder for it to break if you have a rounded rim. And he was so right. And I started implementing that right away. Another thing is when I was first learning how to make pottery, my ceramics teacher also told me that you should be focusing on the rim just a little bit because that's going to really finish off the rest of your piece.
Techniques for Crafting a Perfect Rim
00:01:49
Speaker
Let's get into the steps. The first step to making a really good rim is you have to make sure that the rim is level. Sometimes when we are throwing, we tend to go a little too fast with our hands, so that causes the rim to go be unlevel. And what happens when the rim is unlevel, it makes it that much harder to really drink out of, to
00:02:13
Speaker
trim to do a lot of different things that you're trying to do. So you have to make sure the rim is level at first. Make sure everything is nice and even. How do you fix that if it's not level? Well, this is where a needle tool comes in really, really clutch. So what you need to do is you're going to focus just on that part, maybe about a quarter of an inch from the rim. What you're going to do is you need your wheel spinning
00:02:42
Speaker
You're going to place a finger in the inside, and then you're going to take your needle tool at about a 90 degree angle. Make sure it's kind of horizontal to your finger on the inside. And you're going to press in to the clay with your needle. And what this is going to do, it's going to cut the clay so that it's going to get in. And then once the needle touches your finger, stop the wheel and lift
00:03:05
Speaker
that little pit that you just cut off and just recycle that bit. That's going to help you get a level rim.
Practical Tips for Rim Functionality and Aesthetics
00:03:12
Speaker
The second step into making a really good rim is to not make the rim thick.
00:03:20
Speaker
thick rim may not make it easy to break, but it also makes it hard to Drink out of so you have to find out that a little bit of a happy medium if it's too thin It's going to break super easily if it's too thick. It's not gonna be comfortable drink out of it's not gonna look as clean So you have to be right in the middle
00:03:40
Speaker
What happens if you have too much of a thick rim before you are ready to cut off the clay and you will stop making the pot, whatever you're making? Well, it's really simple. All you're gonna do is you're gonna do like a little bit of a pool just from the rim and you're gonna lift it up just the tiny bit and it's gonna shrink the clay just a tiny bit. Now the third step, this is probably one of the most important steps that you have with all these making this rim.
00:04:10
Speaker
The third step is that you want to use a sponge, a rag, or your fingers to round the rim. A round rim is going to make it that much harder to break and it's going to make it a lot nicer. How do you do this? Well, if you're using a sponge or a rag, you're going to spread the sponge or the rag across the rim. Make sure it's on the inside and outside and just hold it there for maybe three seconds. Go. Once you put it around there and the wheel is spinning, say one
00:04:37
Speaker
two, three, and then release it slowly. This is going to make it have a round rim. So now the last step to making a really good rim is most of the time you're going to want to flare it out just a little bit. And flares it out just kind of gives it that final little touch, that final little pizzazz on it so that it makes it look
00:04:59
Speaker
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. Do you have questions about pottery that you'd like Nick to answer? Send them to us on Instagram at Nick Torres underscore pottery. We'll see you next time.