How a Jar Is Thrown, From Wedged Clay to Finished Rim

A jar begins long before the wheel starts turning. Here is the whole sequence, from wedging the clay to trimming the foot.

Every jar starts with wedging: the clay is cut, stacked and pressed until the air pockets are gone and the particles all face the same way. Skip it and the wall will tear on the wheel, or crack in the kiln weeks later.

Centring comes next. The potter braces both elbows, wets the clay and presses down until the lump runs true. You can hear when it is centred before you can see it, because the wheel stops knocking.

Opening and pulling shape the wall. Three pulls is usual for a jar this size, each one thinning the wall and raising the height. The rim is compressed at the end of every pull, which is what stops it splitting as it dries.

The jar then dries to leather hard before it is turned upside down and trimmed at the foot. Only after that does it meet the glaze, and only after the glaze does it meet the second firing.