To start with, throwing clay doesn't mean that you are literally throwing a ball of clay at someone or something, which would be too easy. It is the art of using a wheel, like Brent pottery wheels for example, to take a mound of clay and form it into a bowl or round object by having the mound spin on a flat wheel and using your hands to form the bowl or object. Just to get to the place where you can form the smallest of bowls without the clay flinging all over the place is quite a feat. To be able to not only get the bowl shaped right but to also get it to be thin and strong takes a lot of practice and patience.

For instance, if it's too thick and has any air pockets in the clay, it may explode in the kiln. You not only have ruined your work of art, but if someone else had theirs in with yours, chances are you've ruined their work of art as well. Another lesson in patience is required for all involved. Once you have mastered the art of throwing to the level of getting a pot out that won't explode, the next big lesson is in using high fire glazes or any glazes for that matter. This is where the fun starts if you love color. To know what the final product will look like is truly an art. The use of metals and other items such as kiln silver clay in the art process is much more complex than can be written about in a short article.

Suffice it to say that you will never be bored with clay if you have a curiosity about different glazes and how they mix and match. One of the reasons it is so fun is that it's kind of like your birthday or any holiday where you get a gift. The anticipation is part of the fun. Opening the kiln up to find out how your pot turned out is exciting. The cool thing about that is you do it over and over again and again. You don't only get to do it once a year.