DIY Network

Bread-and-Butter Plates Throwing the smallest type of plate. From "Throwing Clay" episode DTHC-108

Throwing a set of dinner plates from stoneware clay is one of the most practical projects that can be made on the wheel, and getting the proportions just right is a necessary skill every potter needs to know.

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Figure A

Master potter Bill Van Gilder has been working with a potter's wheel for more than 30 years. Throwing clayware that's practical as well as functional is one of his specialties. Here he is making plates in three graduated sizes; to help them appear uniform in size and design, he's throwing wide rims.

Tools (figure A):

9-1/2 lbs. clay (for three dishes)
bats
2 rubber ribs
wooden rib
ruler
needle tool
pointer
cut-off wire
trimming tool
wax-resist emulsion
glazes

Throwing a Plate

1. The plates are too wide to lift off the wheel head and set on a ware board, so Bill prepares to throw them on a bat (figure B). This wheel head doesn't have bat pin holes, which would help adhere the bat to the wheel head, so Bill throws a flat clay pad, with grooves, on the center of the wheel and sticks the bat to the pad. The grooves help create a suction, or vacuum, that helps adhere the bat to the wheel head (figure C).

Figure B

Figure C

2. Bill starts with the bread-and-butter plate, the smallest of the three plates. The smaller size plate, made from 1-1/2 lbs. of soft clay, helps with practice as he works his way up to the larger dinner plate. Also, the softer the clay, the easier it is to pull the form outward.

3. He is going to have to trim a foot at the bottom of the plate. Plate feet require extra clay at the base, which at the wet stage is approximately 1/2" thick. A needle tool is used to determine the thickness of the base (figure D). Bill pushes it into the clay, holds his thumb on the needle at the point where it enters, pulls it out and measures how deeply it penetrated the clay (figure E).

Figure D

Figure E

4. The plate appears to be flat when finished, but it's actually made in a shallow curve. As the plate dries normally, it rises up and creates a hump across the top. If it's made into a curve, as the clay dries and rises it produces a flat surface (figure F).

5. Before forming the rim, Bill measures the bread-and-butter plate. It should be approximately 7-1/2" across when wet. It will dry to about 7" (figure G).

Figure F

Figure G

6. The next step is to form the rim. Bill pressures the clay from the outside, moving it up toward the fingers of his left hand and sandwiching the clay between his fingers (figure H). He uses the groove between his fingers (figure I) to create an inner step, or inner edge of the rim, which helps him lightly pull the rim outward into a fine taper (figure J).

Figure H

Figure I

Figure J

7. He removes any moisture on the form with a soft sponge and uses a soft rubber rib to smooth the inside and the rim of the plate (figure K). Then, using his fingernail, he adds a decorative swirl in the center of the plate (figure L).

Figure K

Figure L

8. Bill uses the pointed end of a wooden rib to cut a small groove, or bevel, underneath the plate to catch the wire (figure M). It's very easy for the wires to rise up as they are pulled along under the plate. By cutting the groove, he is able to keep the wire in place. He cuts the clay loose from the bat but leaves it in place to dry leather hard (figure N).

Figure M

Figure N

RESOURCES :

Kilns
L & L Kilns
Website: www.hotkilns.com

Clay
Highwater Clays
Website: www.highwaterclays.com

Extruders
American Art Clay Co. Inc. (AMACO)
Website: www.amaco.com