How to Spiral Wedge Clay 

Thank you Victoria, it really is a tricky technique to learn, it definitely took me some time to get right but it's very worth the effort. Thanks for watching!

Thanks so much Sabrina. I hope this helps, good luck!

Greetings Rusty, thanks for following along for the ride.

So glad you found it useful - best of luck potting and thanks so much for taking the time to watch.

Just a follow up. I put your instructions into practice and I mastered it in about 8 minutes! I ended up wedging all of my reclaim last night and it went so much easier and quicker than Ram’s Head wedging! Thanks!

So glad you found it useful. Thanks for watching!

Online class

Cheers Mike!

Good luck!

That's definitely how it is at the start. I remember it sometimes working and other times being a mess beneath my hands. Part of it is teaching yourself to repeat the exact same movements over and over again, which is easier said than done.

@@floriangadsby I'm a multi medium artist (my brother calls it art schizophrenia. But what does he know, he can'teven draw a stick figure.) I figured out the pattern surrender theory (cuz I don't know what else to call it) learning celtic and geometric designs. If there was something I didn't like about the pattern it was always better to note the change for the next project but, keep the one I was working, with the part I didn't love. That way the design is consistent and I was the only one to know it should have been different. Then I started noticing the same technic was improving my art in other mediums too. Working with clay is a little different though. I like it's ability to be changed. Add, subtract, whatever, until you bake it there is no harm no foul. Consistency is key to so much.

That can happen! Maybe try cut wedging if you’re having trouble with spiral wedging, sometimes called cut and slam/stack and slam. It’s arguably an easier to learn method of wedging and there’s less of a chance you’ll trap air.

Cut wedging, I think? I’m glad you found the video useful!

one you figure it out, it’s a little faster (especially for larger amounts of clay), but they both do pretty much the same thing. I prefer rams head for very small amounts of clay and spiral wedging for anything above 1.5 lbs of clay.

It isn't sealed, the ply is left raw so it's absorbent, which makes wedging a bit easier. I give it a good clean most days and once a year I've been giving the top a sand as it is cracking a little bit in places and the ply raises, but it's fine for now! When it really does degrade I'll just flip the table top upside-down and in the longterm future I can just replace it.

I had a long version of this question which I later realised is only time consuming for you. Do if you do have time for this.... I love your work! I am in awe! It fits so well in my own aesthetics. Your videos teach me soo much and they were the push I needed to get my ass to a pottery class and start turning clay. As you well know throwing(Im dutch so I dont know if this term encompasses the whole process or just the buildup of the pot on the wheel🙈but for now Ill stick to this use of the term) it has therapeutic properties and it is pure magic for my usually overstimulated ADHD brain. I was diagnosed 2 years ago at 43yo so you cannot imagine what a relief it is to finally find something that can focus my brain completely and bring me into the present instead of thinking about 20 things at the same time. It's funny how 80% of the times when things fail during throwing it is because I was not present in the moment and with the clay that's gliding through my hands. Throwing clay is also helping me work through decades of built up insecurities as it forces me to deal with failures in a more healthy way and not take it so personal. So thank you soooo so much. Your work is affecting people in more ways then you know.

Add water :)

Let’s are! The problem is you don’t know how long the clay has been sitting in those bags, and sometimes the clay on the outside of the lump is firmer than the stuff on the inside, so it needs to be mixed so the texture is consistent.

@@floriangadsby Makes sense. Thank you for replying! Love your channel!

I purchase it straight, I don’t make it myself. It’s called Audrey Blackman.

Right-handed!

You'll get it eventually, it really took me months to get a shape that only somewhat resembled the shell spiral. But seriously, if you can, find somebody in real life who can do it and have then spiral wedge next to you, (this is a lot to ask I know, especially in COVID times), there's nothing quite as good as real tuition for a process that is hands on.