Youth students explore the world of clay through hand-building to make a functional or decorative ceramic piece. Each class focuses on a themed project designed to create a unique experience, while fostering creativity and imagination! In April, each student will create a toad stool.

Weekday Pottery class instruction includes an introduction to various methods of creating with clay, including hand-building, wheel-throwing, and pinch pot and coils techniques using clay slabs! Students learn how to mold and manipulate clay and apply glazes, in addition to simple ceramic vocabulary and an understanding of firing techniques. These classes make a perfect weekday getaway to relax and enjoy creating something beautiful!

For more independent Weekday Pottery students, open studios allow more time to work in the studio outside of class hours. Having learned studio practices, equipment, and materials in Weekday Pottery Classes, students have the option to concentrate on larger projects and to practice more frequently in the studio. With an experienced instructor present, answers or advice are readily available!

Prerequisite: You must be a current Weekday Pottery student or a former Weekday Pottery student who has taken at least 4 classes (1 month) of Weekday Pottery Classes within the last 12 months to date to enroll in Ceramics Open Studios.

Explore the process of raku firing, which was first developed in the 16th century! In these sessions, Weekday Pottery students will gain first-hand experience in reduction firing techniques. These firings involve decorating bisque-fired ceramics with a low-fire raku glaze, slowly raising the kiln temperature, removing wares when they begin to glow a molten orange color, transporting wares to a combustible chamber, reducing oxygen in the chamber, ending the glaze reaction with water, and cleaning the wares to remove excess carbon. The raku firing process can be unpredictable due to the stress the clay experiences from thermal shock, and the process encourages beautiful imperfections!

Prerequisite: You must be a current Weekday Pottery student or a former Weekday Pottery student who has taken at least 4 classes (1 month) of Weekday Pottery Classes within the last 12 months to date to enroll in Raku Firing Sessions.

Attire: For student safety, the attire policy for these sessions is as follows: closed-toe shoes, long-sleeve cotton shirt, jeans, long hair tied up, a bandana or respirator, and no jewelry. Students will also be required to wear heat-resistant gloves, which will be provided by the instructor at the session.

In this beginner-friendly workshop, students learn about and explore clay through hand-building to create a functional or decorative ceramic piece of their choice. Instructors workshop and problem solve to help bring each student's creative idea to the surface.