wedging: preparing clay properly

Wedging looks like kneading bread and serves the opposite purpose. Bread kneading builds air in; wedging drives air out and evens the clay's moisture so it behaves as one material instead of several arguing ones. Skip it and the wheel will find every air pocket at speed, and the kiln will find the rest.

why air in clay matters

On the wheel, an air pocket is a soft spot that throws the wall off rhythm; you feel a click under your fingers every rotation. In the kiln it is worse. Trapped air and moisture expand faster than clay can vent, and the piece can spall or burst, sometimes taking neighbours with it. Studios insist on wedging less for your pot than for everyone else's.

ram's head wedging, step by step

1. Start with a grapefruit-sized lump on a dry, grippy surface. Canvas or raw timber, never smooth laminate.
2. Push the far edge of the clay down and away with both heels of your hands.
3. Rock it back toward you, lifting the near edge.
4. Quarter-turn nothing: keep the same orientation and repeat. The clay folds over itself into a shape like a ram's skull, spiralling air toward the outside.
5. Thirty to fifty pushes. Cut the lump in half with a wire and look: the face should be dense and even, no bubbles, no marbling.

spiral wedging, for later

Spiral wedging (the japanese chrysanthemum method) rotates the lump slightly each push, forming a shell-like spiral that aligns the clay particles around the axis you will throw on. It is genuinely better preparation for the wheel and genuinely harder to learn than centering itself. File it under second-year skills; ram's head is enough for now.

how much, how often

Fresh clay from a good supplier needs a short wedge; reclaimed clay from the slop bucket needs a long one. Wedge every lump you intend to throw, immediately before throwing. Clay wedged yesterday has already begun drying unevenly at the surface, especially in queensland air.