How to Wedge Clay Properly

Learning how to wedge clay is a tricky skill to pick up when starting out in pottery. While the goal of wedging clay is to remove air bubbles and create a homogeneous mass, many beginning potters end up wedging more air into their clay than they take out. So it’s important to learn how to wedge clay properly.There are various different ways to wedge clay—ram’s head, spiral wedging, and wire wedging to name a few. 

In this video, an excerpt from Teaching Clay in the Classroom, part 1, Jeni Hansen Gard gives a clear demonstration of how to wedge clay in the rams head method, which is typically the easiest method to pick up. Jeni also gives advice on the proper height of the wedging table. –Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

Wedging clay definition: the process of kneading the clay with the hands to remove air bubbles and ensure a homogenous mass. A fun exercise to see how long it takes to crate a truly homogenous mass of clay is to wedge together two chunks of different colored clays. Wedge the two chunks together and when the clay is no longer marbleized, the clay is sufficiently wedged!