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How to throw a pot

Broadcast Date: Feb. 16, 1984

After a lifetime at the potter's wheel, making a bowl is second nature for Michael Cardew. He starts by kneading a hunk of brown clay to remove air bubbles, then positions it on the spinning wheel. He drives his thumbs into the clay, creating a depression in the centre. With intense concentration, Cardew pulls the sides up and out to create a bowl shape. The process, known as throwing, is the focus of this clip from the CBC series Hand and Eye.

How to throw a pot

• After a pot is thrown, it is removed from the wheel and allowed to dry for a few days until it reaches a leather-like consistency. In a process called turning, it then goes back on the wheel for further shaping using metal or wire tools.
• The pot is then ready for firing in the kiln, a very hot oven. After cooling it can be decorated with glaze in a variety of colours, then is fired again to set the glaze.

• Michael Cardew (1901-1983), the potter seen in this clip, was one of England's best-known potters. He began studying the craft while at university, and ran his own studio in the 1920s and '30s, producing practical pieces for home use. He moved to Ghana in 1942 to teach the craft, and in 1945 opened a pottery (a ceramics factory) there. In 1950 Cardew relocated to Nigeria, where he became senior pottery officer in the Ministry of Trade.

• Ceramics, or pottery, is one of the oldest crafts in the world. Archaeological digs have turned up clay pots dating back 10,000 years.
• Clay is the raw material used for making pottery. When moist, it is pliable and easily shaped, and holds its form when dried in the sun or in an oven.

• When the elements feldspar and soapstone are added to clay and fired at a very high temperature, the product is called porcelain.
• Unlike earthenware, porcelain is white in colour and translucent.

How to throw a pot

Medium: Television

Program: Hand and Eye

Broadcast Date: Feb. 16, 1984

Guest(s): Michael Cardew

Host: James Houston

Duration: 5:05

Please contact the Writers Guild of Canada at 416-979-7907 X 5236 if you are able to identify the writer of this clip.

Last updated:
Oct. 19, 2006