Classes

Beginning / Intermediate Wheel
Beginning / Intermediate Wheel 8 weeks Cost: $210
includes clay and tool kit
At the beginning level you will learn to center, open, and raise clay to form cylinders. You will also learn the basics of trimming leather-hard pieces to the shape you want. An introduction to glazing is also part of this class. The 'final exam' for the class is to make a cylinder 3 inches tall within the allotted time. At the intermediate level you will use the techniques taught in the beginning level to make functional ware, including: a vase, a bottle, a platter, and a jar with a lid. You will also learn new techniques including making lids and how to add handles and knobs. At the completion of this class you will have the skills needed to create a wide variety of forms.
 
Introduction to Glazing 4 weeks Cost: $75
A ceramic piece isn't finished until it is glazed. But how do you choose what glazes to use? This class will cover the basics of glazing including: making test tiles to see how particular glazes perform on different clays, mixing glazes from commercial dry glaze mixes, and the proper use of dipping glazes. Safety is important in the studio, and the proper precautions will be covered in this class. Students must be able to throw uniform cylinders. Note: This class is the certification class for using the dipping glazes unsupervised.
 
Intermediate / Advance Wheel
Twice the Possibilities:
Making Double-Walled Pots		 4 weeks Cost: $135
Double-walled pots provide distinctive creative possibilities and have been described as having "tension between the sculptural and the functional nature" of pottery. Learn the techniques for making and decorating these fascinating pieces. Have you ever thrown a pot upside down? Have you added height and width with coils or thrown cylinders? You'll do it in this class. Twice the challenge and twice the fun! This course is not for beginners.
 
Goblets Galore 4 weeks Cost: $135
The ancient form of the drinking goblet, for special occasions or everyday use, will be the subject of this class. You will learn techniques for making goblets, including throwing off the hump and joining the stem to the cup. Previous experience with wheel-throwing required (at least completion of a beginning wheel class)
 
Service for Four or More:
Making Dinnerware		 8 weeks Cost: $210
Impress your guests with dinnerware that you made yourself! You've mastered making bowls and cups and plates, now learn the techniques and tricks to making matching pieces. In this challenging course we'll make matching place settings, serving bowls, covered dishes, and more.
 
Special Topics 5 weeks $160 (all 5) or $40 each
Each week a new topic will be covered: throwing mugs off the hump, pulled handles for mugs, making an oval casserole, throwing salt shakers, making lids.
 
It’s a Keeper! 4 weeks Cost: $135
Deciding when to keep a particular ceramic piece and when to just make another one can be a tough decision. In this class you will make at least 10 bowls or bottles or vases, with variations in form, texture, etc., but you will only keep one (well, maybe two). You decide which one is "a keeper!"
 
Beginning Hand Building
Hand Building 4 weeks Cost: $135
In this class the basic, millennia-old techniques of shaping clay—pinching, coiling, or joining slabs—will be covered. Basic skills will be taught including wedging clay and securely joining pieces. Projects based on these techniques may include cups, bowls, vases, jars, plates, and decorative pieces. No previous experience with clay is required.
 
Making Decorative Tiles 4 weeks Cost: $135
Personalize your bathroom or kitchen with tiled walls of your own design or make tiles for trivets or even art! In this class you'll learn the basics of making tiles and making plaster molds for making copies. Whether you want to make one-of-a-kind tiles or hundreds of copies, this class will get you started. Included with the course is a book on tile making. No previous experience with clay is necessary.
 
Piece Bowls/Bottles 2 weeks each, alternate weeks, 3 hours each lesson Cost: $90 per 2 week class or $160 for both
Piece Bowls: In this class you will piece together a bowl to be a work of art. Using hand-building techniques you will make impressions of objects in slabs of clay and then piece them together over a plaster mold. When the bowl is leather hard you will add a foot ring either by hand or using a wheel. After glazing, the end result will be a bowl that is uniquely yours. Handmade Bottles: In this class you will make bottles by shaping slabs of clay around forms.
 
Advanced Hand Building
Sculptural Jars 4 weeks Cost: $135
In this course, you will throw jar bottoms and lids that will then be completed with sculptural ornamentations. This process varies from conventional jar construction. Sculptural methods will include enhancing the jar body by the use of several techniques such as relief, coil addition, slab addition, graffito, molding and carving. As a prerequisite for this class, the student must be able to throw a uniform cylinder.
 
Mask Making: Marti Gras / Monster Madness / Tribal Tradition 3 weeks Cost: $135
In this class you will make four mini or medium sized masks, or two larger masks. Tribal and other cultural masks will be reviewed for inspiration to create your own unique tribal mask. You could create a monster to add to your Halloween décor, a Marti Gras mask to show off at a party.