Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In this weekend's YouTube video, I'm tackling what's famously quite a deceptively tricky form to throw. Visually it’s so simple, it’s a straight, narrow cylindrical vase and a shape you’d think is very straightforward to create, yet it’s surprisingly tricky…
I throw them with a sturdy rim and balanced, consistent walls, to ensure the pot doesn't warp as it dries out to leather hard for trimming. This is key, as in the past I used to throw these really thin and light but I'd end up making the trimming harder than need be, as these delicate cylinders would the dry unevenly and bend to one side, whereas nowadays I'm just kinder to myself at the throwing stage and then I turn them quite excessively into very crisp, refined forms.
Following this I discuss my simplistic approach to glazing, as again, my technique has changed to account for the glazes I use, it’s become slower but far more consistent, which means the finished, reduction fired results are far cleaner. The thing is, with pots like this, provided you’re aiming for a straight form with a minimal glaze, there’s just nowhere to hide. Dry the forms poorly and they’ll warp, glaze them badly and it’ll show on such a uniform, uninterrupted surface, trim the foot inconsistently and well, it defies the rest of the careful work keeping the shape accurate.
You can find a link to the full video that discusses each step in far greater via the Linktree in my profile’s biography. Thanks for watching!
How to cone clay: youtu.be/69dMLpXosSk
The spinner tools I use: youtu.be/fBK31iuMOHw
📖 • ORDER MY BOOK: geni.us/bymyhands
🏺 • You may also be interested in my 'A Beginner's Guide' series, which you can find here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2WJhtTF0eGhQwf8g2LHcom_KrvJpH_JT
Timecodes:
0:00 - Introduction & notes on ideal interior shapes
2:23 - Clay preparation
3:23 - Centring the clay
4:27 - The importance of the initial, opened base
6:31 - How to fix a 'rippling' base
8:33 - Why I leave the rims thick
8:53 - Using throwing sticks to fix the interior form
11:23 - Why it's important to dry these vases out slowly...
13:44 - How I dry these overnight
14:04 - Trimming the vases
15:04 - Trimming & bevelling the rim
16:16 - Trimming the base of the vase
18:65 - A ramble about how variance in ceramics is a good thing!
21:42 - Packing the electric kiln for a biscuit firing to 1000ºC
22:53 - Waxing the foot of the vase
23:39 - Glazing the vases
26:15 - Cleaning up the glazed surfaces
28:32 - Packing the kiln & reduction firing the pots to cone ten, 1290ºC
29:46 - Unpacking the kiln & the finished pieces
•
Find out much more via the link below!
https://linktr.ee/floriangadsby
•
Get in touch here: floriangadsby.com/contact
Sign up to my newsletter here: floriangadsby.com/newsletter
In this weekend's YouTube video, I'm tackling what's famously quite a deceptively tricky form to throw. Visually it’s so simple, it’s a straight, narrow cylindrical vase and a shape you’d think is very straightforward to create, yet it’s surprisingly tricky…
I throw them with a sturdy rim and balanced, consistent walls, to ensure the pot doesn't warp as it dries out to leather hard for trimming. This is key, as in the past I used to throw these really thin and light but I'd end up making the trimming harder than need be, as these delicate cylinders would the dry unevenly and bend to one side, whereas nowadays I'm just kinder to myself at the throwing stage and then I turn them quite excessively into very crisp, refined forms.
Following this I discuss my simplistic approach to glazing, as again, my technique has changed to account for the glazes I use, it’s become slower but far more consistent, which means the finished, reduction fired results are far cleaner. The thing is, with pots like this, provided you’re aiming for a straight form with a minimal glaze, there’s just nowhere to hide. Dry the forms poorly and they’ll warp, glaze them badly and it’ll show on such a uniform, uninterrupted surface, trim the foot inconsistently and well, it defies the rest of the careful work keeping the shape accurate.
You can find a link to the full video that discusses each step in far greater via the Linktree in my profile’s biography. Thanks for watching!
How to cone clay: youtu.be/69dMLpXosSk
The spinner tools I use: youtu.be/fBK31iuMOHw
📖 • ORDER MY BOOK: geni.us/bymyhands
🏺 • You may also be interested in my 'A Beginner's Guide' series, which you can find here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2WJhtTF0eGhQwf8g2LHcom_KrvJpH_JT
Timecodes:
0:00 - Introduction & notes on ideal interior shapes
2:23 - Clay preparation
3:23 - Centring the clay
4:27 - The importance of the initial, opened base
6:31 - How to fix a 'rippling' base
8:33 - Why I leave the rims thick
8:53 - Using throwing sticks to fix the interior form
11:23 - Why it's important to dry these vases out slowly...
13:44 - How I dry these overnight
14:04 - Trimming the vases
15:04 - Trimming & bevelling the rim
16:16 - Trimming the base of the vase
18:65 - A ramble about how variance in ceramics is a good thing!
21:42 - Packing the electric kiln for a biscuit firing to 1000ºC
22:53 - Waxing the foot of the vase
23:39 - Glazing the vases
26:15 - Cleaning up the glazed surfaces
28:32 - Packing the kiln & reduction firing the pots to cone ten, 1290ºC
29:46 - Unpacking the kiln & the finished pieces
•
Find out much more via the link below!
https://linktr.ee/floriangadsby
•
Get in touch here: floriangadsby.com/contact
Sign up to my newsletter here: floriangadsby.com/newsletter
