Working with a pottery wheel is also known as "throwing." The J H Pottery website concedes that centering the clay is the first and fundamental step in the throwing process. This involves throwing the clay forcefully onto the center of the wheel, ensuring that it sticks well. The J H Pottery website advises the potter to pat the clay into a cone while the wheel is spinning slowly, forcing it into the center of the wheel. The wheel should then be spun faster, and the potter should wet his hands before pushing the clay further into the center. The website suggests the potter uses his right hand to push the clay downward while using the left hand as a guide. Both hands should then be used to press the clay on both sides, pushing it upward so that it is ready for the opening.
Once the center has been pressed out, the clay is ready for an "opening." According to the J. H Pottery website, opening up the center of the clay can be a difficult task and involves complete stillness of the hands. The thumb should be pressed into the center, while being supported by the other hand. The website advises using both hands to widen the opening, and to soak up any water that may pool into the opening with a sponge.
The "pulling" of the clay must now begin, ensuring that the sides are drawn up to be even and symmetrical. The J.H Pottery website advises that the wheel should be spinning at a medium-fast speed and that the clay should be pulled up in two to three attempts. The speed at which the clay is pulled up is dependent on the speed of the wheel, so it is advisable to start the wheel at a slow spin. The pulling should be sustained until the walls of the clay are roughly a quarter of an inch thick. The website in question advises trimming the base of the piece with a wood tool.
According to the Discover a Hobby website, the pottery wheel can only be used to make wares with radial symmetry on a vertical axis. Nevertheless, the website refers to a number of decorative methods that can be used to improve the appearance of potter's wheel pottery. A decorating technique known as impressing, which involves patterned or textured material being pressed into the clay, is one frequently used decorative method. Fluting is another technique reserved for pottery wheel wares, and involves cutting narrow vertical grooves into a pot. Faceting is also a widely used method, which involves changing the surface of the piece with tools such as wires.