On the topic of centering

Centering:

Centering is the most fundamental and important technique in wheel throwing pottery. How well the clay is centered on a wheel very much determines the outcome of the project. There is no room for debating on the essentialness of perfect centering, and this is true even when the intention is to produce an eccentric (symmetrical) form*. To center a piece of clay, one has to have steady hands and good control of force. Too much force can jerk an already centered clay body off center; too little force only leaves the clay body in a wobbly state. Any project that starts with off-centered clay is destined to be defective, and if the mistake is not detected earlier on, the work is usually wasted and cannot be salvaged. Re-centering from scratch will be the only solution. Sometimes, perfect centering can take years to learn, depending on personal talent.

I often think about life when centering clay on a wheel. I suppose the rules of centering can be applied to life in general. I am looking forward to the day when my centering technique is perfect.

P.S. The bottom 1/2" of clay is known to be the hardest to center because it is too close to the wheel.

*Note: Thanks to fellow blog member commenting on this topic. I asked my teather who has been throwing pots for the last 25 years. Yes, there are artists who purposely throw off-centered pots when asymmetrical forms or off-centered work is what the artists desire; however, in the training as a potter, one has to learn proper centering first.