Some Pottery Tips For Beginners

Take a class. There's such a huge learning curve to wheel throwing that a class will save you a great deal of time. It should be 3 hours long (at least 30 minutes of which will be spent cleaning up) and there should be a wheel for every member of the class.

Centering is to pottery what scales are to piano. You need to learn how to center your clay on the wheel before you can throw anything. When you are centering, find a way to brace your hands (to keep them steadier). I usually tripod against my legs and hands. Slow down your wheel once the clay is centered and you've done your first opening.

Remember to breathe. Seriously. A lot of people stop breathing when they are working on their pot and then the jerk of taking a deep breath throws the pot off center.

Visit museums and look at the forms of the pots there. Sketch the profile shapes. Note where the thumb pressed in a handle...think about how you'd do it, what you like about it.