One day workshops, classes and parties and even week-long camps will only teach you some of the basics. If you really want to learn the ins and outs of pottery every step of the way from wet ball of clay to glazed and fired art there really is no alternative to our monthly classes. None of our other regular offerings allow you the time to master any of the techniques involved. It’s simply not possible to do more than introduce pottery in a short class. Classes focus either wheel or handbuilding (which for our purposes is comprised of slab and coil building, pinch forming, sculpture and pretty much anything else that doesn’t involve the wheel) and students work at their own pace and to their own interests.

• Wheel
  Whether you have any experience with the wheel or not you will be given a solid foundation in wedging, centering, opening, pulling, and trimming vessels on the wheel. The last class of the month is usually devoted to glazing. Mastering the wheel is the pursuit of a lifetime, however learning to “throw” on the wheel is a fun, satisfying, and relaxing practice. Our students learn at their own pace and a pushed to hone their basic skills while developing their own vision as an artist and craftsperson.

• Handbuilding
  Handbuilding employs several fundamental techniques to combine clay shapes into practically anything imaginable and excels for producing works of art as well as functional pieces. Our handbuilding classes revolve around projects and challenges, both individual and collaborative, that highlight and utilize a particular set of skills, however students are encouraged to devise their own projects and those can range from an hour or two all the way up to two or three months.

While we describe these two disciplines as discrete from one another, and at first they need to be taught separately and differently, but there is some overlap and intermediate and advanced potters spend much of their time using handbuilding techniques to modify and alter thrown work by adding handles, spouts, lids, and sprigs. Advanced potters may use various strategies to make thrown forms shapes other than round.

Monthly classes are open to all students ages 12 and up, regardless of skill level. Most students in monthly classes are adults, but we’ve found that artistic and spunky kids have no trouble holding their own. Classes are 3 hours long and meet the same day and time each week 4 times a month. Our current students can re-enroll whenever they wish, while the classes open to the public in the middle of each month. Registration is $150 for the month and includes the 4 classes, glazing and firing. There is also a $30 fee for twenty-five pounds of clay which should last you throughout the month. Additional clay may be purchased at any time. Don’t forget to dress casual and bring a towel and/or apron — working in clay can be messy!

Upcoming classes

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