My Personal Tips for Beginner Wheel Throwing: A Potter's Journey

Hello blog readers, Anna here!

In this blog post, I thought it would be fun to share my personal tips and tricks to help guide and navigate your ceramics journey as a beginner in wheel throwing. As you may or may not know, I’ve been doing ceramics for almost two years now. And while that may seem fairly quick, I have learned a lot and have been able to gain the necessary skills to succeed at wheel throwing—mainly because I caught the pottery bug and have been obsessed ever since.

It’s that obsession that keeps me curious and constantly learning and growing. While there’s still so much to explore in the world of pottery, I’m here to offer a few heartfelt tips from my own experience that might help you on your wheel throwing journey.

1. Set Your Expectations

No, really—set your expectations… and then throw them out the window!

It’s tough when you’re constantly seeing endless Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok videos of flawless pottery being made. But keep in mind, these clips often only show the highlights. They’re sped up, edited, and created by ceramicists who’ve spent years mastering their craft.

Don’t compare your Day 1 to someone else’s Year 5. Use these creators as inspiration, not a measuring stick. Especially in the beginning, be kind to yourself and embrace the learning process.

2. Repetition Is Key

Something I always tell my students is this: Repetition is everything.

You need to practice before you can truly get good at anything. Some people learn faster than others. For me? I was definitely a slow learner in the beginning. But once I started repeating the steps in my head and building muscle memory on the wheel, things started to click.

What’s that saying? Rome wasn’t built in a day.

3. Let Go

I’m constantly being humbled by ceramics—things explode, crack, break, or get too much glaze and melt into a mess. Some days I feel like a clay wizard. Other days, I feel like I’m wrestling with mud.

The truth is: you won’t win every time, and that’s okay.

Letting go of perfection, especially as a beginner, is crucial. Don’t waste your energy on frustration. Sometimes, you’ll even end up with a happy accident or a valuable lesson on what not to do next time. That’s still growth.

4. Experiment

Once you’ve got the basics down, start experimenting as much as you can—responsibly, of course (don’t ruin the kiln shelf like I did when I first started!).

If you have access to the resources, try everything! There are so many fun and creative techniques to explore:

• Sgraffito
• Slip trailing
• Carving
• Nerikomi
• Raku firing
• Underglazing
• Airbrush glazing
• Watercolor glazing
• Ceramic transfers

You get the idea! The more you experiment, the more you’ll find what you love—and eventually, you’ll start developing your own unique artistic voice.

Final Thoughts

Pottery is a beautiful, messy, humbling, and deeply satisfying journey. As a beginner, it’s easy to get overwhelmed or discouraged, but remember—every master was once a beginner. Trust the process, show up often, and don’t be afraid to mess up. That’s where the magic lives. And if you want to take a class with me you can take a look Happy Hands Pottery & Art Studio!

You’ve got this, and I’m cheering for you!