How to Avoid Slumping when Throwing Ramen Bowls

Ramen bowls are a favorite in my classes but getting them right is not so easy. Common complaints include slumping and unevenness. So today I'll show you the fixes that make all the difference. I'm using 1.6 kilos of clay. Now if your clay is too wet it won't hold up too well and your pot will slump. And clay that's too firm is going to be equally problematic. Make sure it's well prepared and homogenous. I start by centering the clay. Clay that's properly centered allows you to make an even pot. I'll often check a student's clay and find that it might be centered at the top but not at the base. This is resolved by coning up right from the base where the clay meets the wheel head. Once centered I flatten the clay. I flatten the clay to a little wider than the diameter of the foot. And now I push down into the clay leaving enough clay in the base for the foot ring. I want to trim a 10mm foot ring so I'm leaving at least 16mm in the base. I've opened out with a curve in the base of the pot. I don't want the bottom of my bowl to be flat. And now I pull up the walls. I'm going to leave a little extra clay in the base of the walls. This extra clay will help support the walls as we bring them out into a bowl shape. Preventing slumping. And I'm opening out the walls to start to form a bowl. I like to provide support for the outside of the bowl with my flexible rib. I compress the rim to reinforce and keep the rim even. And if your walls do become a little wobbly at this stage you can compress with a rib. This helps strengthen the walls. I'm ready to shape the bowl. So I gently push from the inside out. I'm using a sponge on the outside. You can also use a rib on the outside or the inside to shape. You'll lose a little height when you bring the walls out into a bowl shape. I'm really stretching the clay here. I open the bowl out to its final width. And then I measure and finish the rim. And then I wire through and set aside to dry to leather hard. To trim I upend the bowl and I centre. I mark out the foot ring and I can double check that the bowl's centred. I fasten with lugs of clay. So I'm going to trim all that supporting clay away. I start by trimming away outside the foot ring. As I trim I link my hands together for stability. I trim a little down the outer side of the pot. Just integrating the foot ring with the profile of the pot. And now I trim away the clay inside the foot ring. I use the corner of my trimming tool to make ridges. And then trim away those ridges with the flat part of the tool. I refine the foot ring a little. Just getting the width of the foot ring to match the thickness of the bowl. And I smooth the foot ring with my fingers. I remove the lugs of clay. And then I set aside to dry. I bisque fire. And then I glaze. I glaze by pouring into the inside of the bowl. Giving it a bit of a swirl. And then pouring out. After sponging away any drips I add a rim of darker glaze. I've used a white glossy glaze on the inside. I'm using a tenmoku style glaze for the rim. And now I'm ready to dip the outside. I hold the bowl with my two hands on the interior pressing outwards. And I dip right up to that glazed rim. This can be a bit tricky at first but it's a great way of glazing. It leaves no tong marks. And then I just clean around the foot ring. And then I glaze fire. These ramen bowls are really generous. They hold about one and a half litres of soup comfortably. I thought the contrast between the interior glaze and the exterior glaze might be a bit much. But when they're filled with soup and noodles the contrast works really well. If you haven't already done so subscribe to our channel. It keeps us motivated to make more videos. And for more bowl making hints and tips why not check out my pasta bowl video. And as always happy potting.