So, 2021 certainly feels like a distant dream (or maybe nightmare?) now! Seems like everyone is already full steam ahead into 2022. We’re all trying to hype ourselves up to go back to work even though we’d all rather be relaxing and spending quality time with friends and loved ones for a tiny bit longer.

In this article I’ll take you through the different types of tools I use in my studio and their purpose. This is a great resource for beginning your collection or building on your existing tools.

I’ve asked a handful of local creatives to share their favourite tools as well!

Let me paint a picture for you. You’ve done a few terms at your local pottery studio and you know your way around the wheel fairly well. OR, you’re a keen hand builder and you’re starting to get serious. You love your weekly class but you’re itching to get more time to practice what you’ve learnt or to just be creative so you decide that you’re going to set up a space at home. Where do you begin? Firstly, congrats! That’s so exciting that you’re ready and keen to take your practice to the next level. I bet you’re thinking “Help?!” It can be a lot to wrap your head around but I’ve got you covered. I’ll take you through studio safety, storage, clay recycling, tools, glazing and much more! But today I’ll give you an overview of the essentials to get you started.

So I bet you’re thinking, “What the heck is throwing off the hump?” Well, it’s a Japanese method of making pots on the pottery wheel from a large mound of clay. This method of throwing differs from the western style of throwing where we measure out our balls of clay and throw directly onto the wheel. Throwing off the hump offers a chance to be a little more experimental with our forms and allows us to make multiple pieces from the same mound of clay.