WHEEL-THROWN BOTTLE – Workshop with Alessandro Strano

More control, new forms

Once you’ve got the basics of wheel throwing down, it’s time to challenge your hands and start working with more complex forms.

A narrow-necked bottle is the perfect exercise: it asks you to stay in control as the clay changes direction, gradually guiding the walls inward while learning to manage pressure, thickness, volume and proportion with greater precision.

The workshop is designed as a step-by-step progression. We’ll start with a short introduction to the technique, breaking down the key stages and focusing on the trickiest moments of the process.

Then we’ll move to the wheel with a series of small exercises in closed forms, building confidence with the technique and training the gesture. We’ll also throw an open form, focusing on control of the walls and overall shape.

These exercises will prepare you for the final stage: throwing a narrow-necked bottle using 1 kg of clay, bringing together everything you’ve explored throughout the workshop.

The goal isn’t simply to make a bottle. It’s about understanding how clay responds, developing greater sensitivity in your hands, and gaining more control and confidence at the wheel.

A new technique to add to your wheel-throwing skills — and, most importantly, a starting point for independently exploring bottles, vessels and increasingly personal, complex closed forms.