Best Pottery Classes Near Me: Find In-Person & Virtual Training

Learn More About Pottery Courses

What is Pottery?

Pottery is a craft where you create vessels and objects from clay and other raw materials by shaping them and then firing them at a high temperature. People throughout time have turned to pottery to create tableware, decorative ware, sanitary ware, and laboratory ware. Ancient Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Native Americans, and other peoples produced pottery for practical and decorative purposes. Historians and archaeologists have traced pottery back further than the Neolithic period, with evidence of ceramic objects seen in the Czech Republic from around 29,000-25,000 BC. This craft has proven an integral aspect of human culture for thousands of years.

Pottery requires multiple steps to transform raw materials into ceramic pieces. First, you select and prepare the clay you plan to work with. After that, you can shape the pottery, either by hand, with a potter’s wheel, or through a molding process. Once you have shaped your piece, it needs drying, firing, and glazing. Potters add finishing touches after the glazing process and may opt to burnish the piece or put it through additional firing.

Today, pottery remains popular for the creation of both functional and decorative works. Contemporary pottery reflects a wide range of techniques, including ones influenced by culture and technology. Globalization has allowed for the further spreading of techniques across cultures. You can see the impact of cross-cultural exchange in the styles of pottery that continue to exist and evolve today. Pottery has also intersected with other art forms, like sculpting and painting. This integration has led to new approaches to form, function, and presentation. As art forms begin to blend, we see new ways to make pottery decorative and functional emerge.

Concern for the environment has led to the development of sustainable practices in art, including pottery. Modern potters have begun using eco-friendly materials and have turned to or developed their own methods of minimizing waste during the creation process. Along with spreading new and past techniques to each other, the access to technology today has helped create a sense of community among contemporary potters. Not only can they work together in studios or meet at local craft fairs; the pottery world today encourages dialogues between local and global communities with help from the internet.

Why Learn Pottery?

Learning pottery will provide you with an artistic outlet, help you connect to tradition, and offer an eco-friendly and functional crafting activity.

You can use pottery as a form of personal expression. When creating a piece, you can decide whether you want to create something functional or decorative. From there, it’s up to you to decide how your piece will look, from how it’s sculpted to how it’s colored and decorated. Even the texture of your piece is up to you. Pottery therefore serves as a means to express your artistic side and explore your personality and taste as you personalize the pieces you create.

Through pottery, you’ll learn to connect to traditions. As one of the oldest human crafts, pottery is used as a way to connect with historical traditions and techniques that people and civilizations have passed down for centuries. This will also help explore and appreciate a variety of cultures. Different cultures approached pottery differently, whether it was for the intent to create something functional or decorative. Exploring the different techniques used throughout time can connect you to the cultures that first implemented these techniques and how they were refined over time.

When compared to mass-produced items, many view pottery as a sustainable alternative. You can turn to pottery when you want something to decorate a side table in your home and if you want to craft something functional. What you create doesn’t have to benefit just you either. Learning pottery can open up your gift-giving options. Many people would love to receive something hand-made for a birthday or holiday. You can craft a memorable piece for a loved one that shows the time and attention you put into it, while also saving money on gifts.

What You’ll Learn in a Pottery Class?

In a beginner-level pottery class, you can expect to learn the basic steps in the multi-step process required to craft pottery and ceramics.

Beginner-level pottery classes may first introduce you to the materials available to use. This includes learning about the different types of clay and their properties, as well as the sculpting tools you’ll use, the pottery wheel, and other materials. From there, you’ll move on to basic techniques. Some classes may start you out with hand-building, a technique where you create forms out of clay using your hands. Other classes dive straight into wheel throwing. In a pottery wheel class, you’ll learn to center the clay on the wheel, form symmetrical and balanced shapes, and refine the shape you’re creating by removing excess clay.

If you’ve ever been to a pottery painting class, you’re probably a little familiar with the surface decoration stage of pottery. During this stage, potters work on decorating the surface of the piece they’re making. This can include adding texture by stamping, carving, or creating patterns. Other techniques include slip decoration, which involves applying liquid clay to your piece to create texture, and also sculpting.

You can expect to become familiar with the basics of design during a pottery class. You’ll want to consider the degree of aesthetic appeal your pottery warrants. This means learning color theory to help you understand the colors you want to achieve and how the glazing process may impact the final result. The proportions of your piece also require consideration. If you want to create a visually appealing design, you’ll need to consider these elements.

Most beginner-level pottery classes will have the instructor or studio employees glaze and finish your work for you. Glazing refers to a process in which you add a liquid, known as glaze, to the pottery to make it smooth and glass-like as well as waterproof and food-safe. Firing comes both before and after glazing. This is when the clay is heated to a high temperature in a kiln to make it durable. Although you won’t do these steps yourself in an introductory class, your instructor may cover what the processes entail, including the different methods of applying glaze, how the different types of glaze affect the final piece, the steps involved in the firing process, and how a kiln operates.

Like with most crafts, safety is of the utmost importance. In a pottery class, you can expect to learn basic safety measures and why they matter. You’ll learn how to safely use pottery tools, including how to maintain and store them, as well as the importance of working in a well-ventilated area and using a mask whenever you’re sanding or handling dry clay. Classes that cover glazing will also likely include lessons in glaze and chemical safety. It’s important when working with harmful substances that you know how to protect yourself from them, properly store them, and clean up spills.

After learning basic-level pottery, you may find yourself enrolling in intermediate and advanced-level courses. Advanced pottery classes often cover specialty techniques such as mixing your own glazes and raku firing, an ancient Japanese technique used to create a unique design on your final piece.

How Long Will it Take to Learn Pottery?

Basic pottery skills will take a few months to learn. During this period, you’ll learn how to work with a pottery wheel, how to shape clay, and how to decorate your pottery. After a few months of practice, you’ll likely feel prepared to learn intermediate-level techniques. For most, it takes around six months to one year to develop intermediate-level pottery skills. Once you’ve hit the one-year mark of training, you should feel prepared to develop advanced-level skills. Advanced-level pottery courses often cover specialty techniques.

The amount of time it takes you to learn pottery depends on how much time you have to learn. The more time you can dedicate to training and practicing, the faster you’ll start to pick up basic skills. You can speed up the process by attending formal training sessions and studying outside of the classroom. The time it takes to learn is also impacted by the skill level you’re hoping to achieve. If you’re picking up pottery as a hobby, you’ll need less formal training than if you wish to develop professional-level skills.

What are the Advantages of Taking a Pottery Class?

If you’re interested in taking a pottery class, check out the courses available in your area on CourseHorse. You can find classes held at local studios and schools that will help you learn the basics of pottery and you’ll walk away with a beautiful piece you’ve made yourself.

One of the best parts about taking a pottery class is that you can rely on an expert instructor to guide you through the steps. Guided classes ensure that you’ll learn all the important steps involved in pottery and lessons may even include material on the history of pottery. Some classes center around specific techniques that were used by ancient civilizations while others provide more contemporary lessons. When looking for a course to enroll in, you can even find ones that cover specific techniques.

Learning pottery in a classroom setting ensures that you’re learning in a safe environment. Instructors often go over basic safety instructions to ensure that you’re using tools correctly to keep yourself and others safe. If you’re interested in developing advanced-level skills, it’s especially important to build a strong knowledge of safety measures early on before you begin working with more dangerous tools and machinery.

Because you’re no expert in pottery, you likely don’t have access to the tools and materials needed. Luckily, pottery classes will provide you with everything you need to get started, including a pottery wheel, clay, and texturing tools. Even greater is that the studio you enroll in a class at is likely to do all the glazing and firing for you. Potters can buy glaze online but usually send their work to a kiln firing service, rent a kiln at a community studio, or find kiln owners online who will let them pay to use it. By attending a pottery class, you can eliminate the need to look for firing options.

Another benefit to attending a pottery class is having the chance to work around others. Although you may not need help from classmates during a pottery class, it can be fun to have others around to talk to and get tips from when crafting. Pottery classes also make great events to attend with your friends, family, or significant other.

Best Pottery Classes

You can find pottery classes held in your area on weekdays, evenings, and weeknights. When enrolled in an in-person pottery class, you’ll attend a scheduled class held in a classroom or art studio. In-person classes require students to commute, so you should make sure you can make the required commute before enrolling. Most in-person classes are offered in metropolitan cities, but if you don’t live in one it’s still likely that you can find a local art class.

Zerimar Clay, located in New York City, hosts a Pottery Wheel Throwing class at their Hell’s Kitchen location. During this one-session class, you’ll spend two hours learning the basics of making a cup or bowl shape on a pottery wheel. The instructor will first show you a short demonstration before guiding you along as you try it yourself. Don’t worry about making mistakes--students can try again and again until they manage to shape a piece that they like. After the class has ended, you can return in one week to pick up the piece that Zermiar Clay has fired for you. This is a beginner-friendly class that includes all materials. Sign up now, show up in clothes you don’t mind getting messy, and get ready to try your hand at creating something. This class makes a great team-building or birthday activity.

Zerimar Clay also hosts a beginner-level Neriage Wheel Throwing class. Neriage is an ancient decorative pottery technique involving the use of patterned clay made by mixing and layering different colored or shaded clays together. Over the course of the one-hour session, you will receive a crash course in the basics. Like the Pottery Wheel Throwing class, students will receive a brief demonstration before receiving guidance on working their way through the neriage technique. The piece you pick up from Zerimar Clay in one week will have a beautiful combination of random marble streaks, as is characteristic of neriage. Don’t let the new technique intimidate you--this class welcomes beginners.

Looking to learn pottery in Los Angeles? Still Life Studio offers a beginner-level class, Beginning Wheel, at their LA location. This class provides students with a comprehensive introduction to wheel throwing. Instructors will guide you through every step across the four-session class. For two hours each session you’ll learn the basics of wheel throwing and learn firsthand how fun it is to create functional pottery. Throwing is the main focus of sessions one and two. Session three covers trimming and session four covers glazing. Although this is a beginner-level class, Still Life Studio encourages experienced individuals to enroll if they’d like extra practice.

If you’re interested in a shorter course, Still Life Studio hosts a one-hour class, Pottery Wheel Throwing: Bowl in One. This class will provide you with the chance to spend an hour exploring your creativity as you create a bowl. Still Life Studios will fire and glaze the bowl for you which you can then pick up around three weeks later.

The Evanston Art Center, in Evanston Illinois, near Chicago, offers Beginning/Intermediate Wheel Throwing for students who would like to expand their pottery skills. You’ll spend 12 sessions diving into advanced-level pottery techniques and refining your skills under the guidance of an expert. New and experienced students alike can expect to build off of basic pottery skills in this class. Before enrolling, students need to purchase a beginner’s pottery set from a local art store or online.

Want to take your skills even further? Enroll in the Evanston Art Center’s Advanced/Intermediate Wheel Throwing class. This course focuses on the creation of functional pottery forms. You can expect to spend the 12-session class working on functional pottery and elevating your throwing and glazing techniques. Functional pottery forms covered in this class include mugs, dinnerware, pitchers, vases, and covered forms. The Evanston Art Center welcomes experienced throwers interested in expanding their repertoire of forms into this class.

If you’re interested in pottery courses offered on the CourseHorse website, check out their private group event option. If you and your friends want to take a pottery class together, you can inquire with CourseHorse about booking the class you want to take for a group. All you need to do is submit a request form on the website letting them know your group size, special requests, and dates and times that you’re interested in. CourseHorse also offers course gift cards. With this option, you can select from their thousands of courses to send as a gift card to someone. Courses sent as a gift card have no expiration and include instant delivery.

Live Online Pottery Classes

You can find an array of wheel throwing classes available to you across locations, but if you’re more interested in online lessons, you can find several live online pottery classes available to you on CourseHorse. Live online classes eliminate the need to commute to a physical studio or school and let you learn from the comfort of your home. This makes them a more flexible learning option than in-person classes. Live online classes usually take place over Zoom or another web conferring platform.

You can take a Virtual Kintsugi class with Kat McDowell, a Kintsugi maker located in Los Angeles. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of mending pottery with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Kintsugi means “to join with gold” and is tied to Japanese philosophy, specifically the concept of wabi-sabi, which calls for the acceptance of imperfection and finding beauty in simplicity. This online workshop will offer you a peaceful and reflective experience as you work on embracing imperfections not just in your ceramics. For two and a half hours, you and others will work on mending chipped ceramics while considering your perspective on the world. The course includes a craft kit filled with Epoxy Putty, bronze powder, cotton buds, and other materials. You have the option of purchasing a broken ceramic vessel and a broken handmade pottery from Japan as add-ons.

Do you have a green thumb? Even if you don’t, you can enroll in Kat McDowell’s Mini Succulent Cement Planter class. For one hour, you and others will mold cement to create your own set of succulent planters. The class uses quick-drying cement which your instructor will walk you through using each step of the way. During the class, you’ll learn how to mix and mold quick-drying cement and customize your planters with gold accent paint.

Another option for online learners is Santa Monica College’s course, A Thousand Years of Decorative Tiles. The one-hour class is a lesson in decorative tiles throughout history. Through lectures and slide illustrations, you’ll explore decorative tiles from palaces to Art Deco apartments. The class includes lessons on the variety of techniques and color palettes of ceramic glazes used in the shown works. You’ll also learn about design influences from around the world, the role that influential patrons played in the creation of the tiles, and how tile artisans lived and practiced.

Interested in learning about other pottery classes available to you? You can explore pottery classes on the CourseHorse website, including classes offered in the past. You can explore classes offered in your area and live online with CourseHorse. If a class catches your interest but is not currently available, you can regularly visit the CourseHorse website or contact CourseHorse to explore other classes that may interest you.

If you’re interested in exploring other arts and crafts classes, CourseHorse also offers private virtual art classes for groups and team building. These private classes are ideal for companies looking to develop strong team relationships while also offering their employees a fun way to get to know each other. Contact CourseHorse to find out about the private classes they’re currently offering.

Pottery Courses by School

Here are some of the top schools offering Pottery training, including Evanston Art Center (7 courses), Choplet Ceramic Studio (6 courses), and Zerimar Clay (6 courses).

Evanston Art Center

Chicago location: 1717 Central Street, Evanston, Illinios

Evanston Art Center is a non-profit art school and community center in Evanston, Illinois. They offer a variety of classes and workshops for all ages and skill levels, as well as exhibitions, performances, and other events. Evanston Art Center is committed to providing affordable art education and experiences to the community.
- Adaptive Ceramics
  - 25 Hours
  - $520
- Advanced/Intermediate Wheel Throwing
  - 36 Hours
  - $570
e.e.ceramics

NYC location: 622 Broadway, Brooklyn, New York

e.e.ceramics is a ceramics studio located in Brooklyn, New York. The studio is run by passionate teacher, artist, and illustrator Eleni Kontos. e.e.ceramics offers a variety of classes for all levels, from beginners to experienced ceramicists.
- Hand Building Workshop
  - 2 Hours
  - $85
The Fire Gallery

Houston location: 2102 Edwards St, Houston, Texas

"The Fire Gallery" is a private art studio in Houston, Texas that offers a variety of glass fusing and stained glass classes and workshops for all levels, from beginners to experienced artists. Their studio has a large selection of glass and tools so you can bring your creative visions to life.
- Houston Pottery Throw Down: Intro to Handbuilding
  - 3 Hours
  - $50
Choplet Ceramic Studio

NYC location: 238 Grand St, Brooklyn, New York

Choplet Ceramic Studio is a pottery studio and school located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The studio offers a variety of classes and workshops for all levels, from beginners to experienced potters. Choplet Ceramic Studio is a great place to learn about the art of pottery and to create beautiful works of art.
- Wheel Throwing Intensive
  - 15 Hours
  - $500
- One Day Wheel Throwing
  - 2 Hours
  - $90
- Wheel/Hand Ceramics Day Camp (Ages 6-14)
  - 15 Hours
  - $480
Pottery NYC

NYC location: 786 9th Ave, New York, New York

Pottery NYC stands as the pinnacle studio for creative expression, boasting a perfect 5.0-star rating from its enthusiastic community. Offering an array of classes ranging from pottery to drawing, sculpting, knitting, painting, and beyond, it's a vibrant hub for seasoned artists and beginners seeking to unleash their creativity. Pottery NYC provides an inclusive and inspiring environment for exploration and skill development in various artistic mediums, whether for events, individuals, or groups.
- Pottery Wheel Throwing
  - 2 Hours
  - $96
Zerimar Clay

NYC location: 402 W 51st St, New York, New York

At Zerimar Clay, delve into a world of vibrant color exploration within a small Ceramics Studio, where clay becomes both canvas and paint. Prioritizing firing temperatures for optimal vitrification, we offer extensively tested, food-safe glazes and clay bodies to ensure safety and minimize surface issues.
- Pottery Wheel Throwing (Hell's Kitchen)
  - 2 Hours
  - $96
- Ceramics Wheel Throwing Class
  - 2 Hours
  - $130
Centerpoint Ceramics

NYC location: 355 Stockholm St Basement, Brooklyn, New York

Centerpoint Ceramics is a community-focused pottery studio located in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We offer a range of ceramics classes, group lessons, and firing services to nurture creativity and skill in pottery. With studio memberships and a variety of workshops, we cater to all levels of pottery enthusiasts.
- Handbuilding 6-Week Course
  - 18 Hours
  - $445
Ceramics on 10th

NYC location: 756 10th Ave, New York, New York

Step into the tranquil world of Ceramics on 10th, a beloved pottery studio nestled in the heart of bustling New York City. With intimate classes capped at ten participants, our studio offers a serene escape for pottery enthusiasts of all levels. Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including cone six electric firing and various glazes, our students can explore their creativity with over one hundred and ten color combinations. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced potter, Ceramics on 10th invites you to unleash your artistic talents and find solace in the art of ceramics.
- 6-Week Long Pottery Wheel Throwing Course
  - 12 Hours
  - $450

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Learn Pottery

Learn More About Pottery Courses

What is Pottery?

Why Learn Pottery?

What You’ll Learn in a Pottery Class?

How Long Will it Take to Learn Pottery?

What are the Advantages of Taking a Pottery Class?

Best Pottery Classes

Live Online Pottery Classes

Pottery Courses by School

Evanston Art Center

Adaptive Ceramics

Advanced/Intermediate Wheel Throwing

e.e.ceramics

Hand Building Workshop

The Fire Gallery

Houston Pottery Throw Down: Intro to Handbuilding

Choplet Ceramic Studio

Wheel Throwing Intensive

One Day Wheel Throwing

Wheel/Hand Ceramics Day Camp (Ages 6-14)

Pottery NYC

Pottery Wheel Throwing

Zerimar Clay

Pottery Wheel Throwing (Hell's Kitchen)

Ceramics Wheel Throwing Class

Centerpoint Ceramics

Handbuilding 6-Week Course

Ceramics on 10th

6-Week Long Pottery Wheel Throwing Course

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Pottery Training Map & Top Locations

9 Courses Available in NYC

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