Throwing a Huge Salad Bowl

This video shows how to throw a huge salad bowl with 15 pounds of clay, including centering, opening, pulling and shaping.
It's a big challenge, but you can do it! The key is to open and pull up, and then lower the walls with ribs in the shaping stage. If 15 pounds is too much, start with 5 pounds and keep adding a pound or two as you learn. Starting with soft clay can make it easier to center as well.
If you are curious about the homemade ribs I use, check out this tutorial: www.thestudiomanager.com/post...
Good luck and share any questions or your experience with making big bowls in the comments.
Timestamps
00:13 Centering the clay
03:06 Opening the clay
04:55 Pulling the walls
10:05 Shaping with ribs
20:10 Cleaning the base
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Instagram: / mattmerkelh. .
TikTok: / mattmerkelhess
Website: www.merkelhess.com/

[@AllanRisk]

Impressive! I was holding my breath toward the end! You work very cleanly, which is something I need to try to do. My tools are always covered in slip, to the point where I sometimes can’t find them 😳. I think the idea of keeping tools dry is something I will try to do. Having the towel looks like a handy thing to have too.

[@merkelhess]

Everyone starts out messy and using a lot of water. Don’t worry about it. But as you gain experience, you’ll find you throw with more precision and mostly likely cleaner. I do love cleaning my hands before switching to ribs but everyone finds their own way of throwing.

[@toninoserratore3054]

Bravo io o un diploma come vasaio

[@hemmerable]

Do you make your own ribs? Or did you purchase your handmade rib? Is it a metal rib you are using there? I couldn't tell. Great video! 👍

[@merkelhess]

Yes, I am using a large metal rib. I do make my own ribs, and have provided a link in the video description to a tutorial on that. This rib is curved on all sides and was given to me around 15 years ago by a friend, and appears to be zinc-plated stainless steel. For my ribs, I use 24 or 28 gauge stainless steel, which can be found in 12 inch square sheets at hardware stores. Draw your shape with a marker, cut with metal snips, and then sand edges to smooth. That said, there are lots of ribs on the market and I do use a variety of those as well! But for lowering the walls of a bowl, I like big metal or plastic ribs.