The wheel thrown pottery class has recently gotten new pottery wheels for the class.

“We have gotten three new wheels,” instructor Jennifer Younger said. “We hope that after every year we can get a few more and slowly swap all of the old ones out for these new ones. We have had the old ones since before Mr. Mages started working here so they were getting worn out.”

The new wheels have some major differences from the old ones that make them easier to use and learn on.

“You can sit down at these ones, and they spin both ways,” Younger said. “The old ones only spin one way which makes it hard for the lefties in the class as they have to teach themselves how to throw with their nondominant hand. On these new ones, you can also control how fast it goes using a peddle like you would a sewing machine. On the old ones, you have two modes, fast and slow.”

One of the advantages of having pottery wheels you can sit at is if you do ceramics in college that is how they do it as well. If you have never used one sitting down it will put you at a disadvantage, Younger said.

“Most students prefer using the new ones,” Younger said. “The students who don’t are the ones who have been using the wheels where they have to be standing up since their freshman or sophomore year and are more comfortable using the wheels that they learned on.”

20hdannar@usd489.com