Slab Built Pottery Course for Beginners

Ready to take your love of pottery a bit more seriously? This six-week pottery course will arm you with hand building basics and leave you with at least nine unique pots to take home after your course has finished but your fascinating journey has just begun.Your teacher, Jude will guide you week by week, explaining the basics of pottery from wedging the clay, creating intricate designs and colouring your clay plus much more.This course runs for six weeks with classes on Wednesday mornings 10am - 1pm and evenings from 6 pm until 9 pm.Course outline:Week one: It's time to get more familiar with clay! Jude will show you how to make your own mould from found objects which you can create ready to be set for another class. Don't worry, you'll still get your hands dirty... in this class, you'll create 2 smallish shallow bowls (eg) spoon rest, in-scents burner, garlic shredder, ring holder, etc. etc. Attaching different styles of feet to elevate your creation from the tableWeek two: This week you'll be learning about press moulds. You'll use a mould made from wood or clay to create two dishes (up to 28cm wide). You'll have the choice of circle, square, oval or rectangle and of course your own choice of designs. You'll also be guided on how to create your own pattern template to use in the future. Adding rims to these pieces can create a totally different feel to your creation so we will be learning rim treatments to add to your arsenal.Week three: It's the week to level up your creativity! We're making stamps and a medium sized bowl this week. You'll create your own unique stamps that you'll use to add texture and design to your creation. Importantly, you'll need to make a special stamp with your signature on it so you can let the world know it's your design; and all pots MUST have your signature on them before they're fired so we can all recognise which pot belongs to you because they can look very different after firing! You'll then use these stamps to make a beautiful platter covered in your different textures. We will be trying to incorporate handles into your bowl design this week.Week four: We will be getting colourful in week four. This week we'll be learning more about colour and slips. You'll create your own slip colour for your designs but don't worry, you won't be limited - Jude has a vast array of colour slips already created for you to use. This week you'll create a humble cylinder or two, most articles start from this shape eg. mug, jug, Utensil Holder, oil burner, lidded container, flask, oil bottle, vase, stein. etc. etc.Week five: Lets be game whilst we have many hands to help us achieve a larger mass of clay Platter, it's heavier and more awkward than you may think. This week, you'll build a serving platter and learn the intricacies of joining a foot or why not to. You'll use your slip knowledge and skills learnt so far to colour, texture your platter. Maybe you will choose to use your own stamps. Having a photo or drawing of what has inspired you for your platter prior to this night is important so as to have all necessary moulds and equipment in readiness. Discussions need to be had prior to the event. There is never just one way to achieve something - the possibilities are endless!While your platter is setting up, you can work on a smaller project using the same theme as your platter - working on two different items in one class will be easy! Week six: We're almost at the end of our beginner pottery journey. In our final week together, you'll learn basic knowledge of glazing, preparing your creations, cleaning, waxing, spraying, brushing, dipping, all the way up to placement in the kiln. We have found this to be a much needed addition to the Course and as firing of your pieces is basically the most expensive area it has been decided to include Raw Glazing or once firing into the mix. We are aiming to have your pieces all bisque fired for this night, weather permitting, so you will be glazing all of your own pots ready to be glaze fired the next week. This lesson is most important to further your endless journey into the wonderful world of Ceramics or Pottery, there is no end to what you can achieve. Congratulations, you have totally made your own collection of pottery, what a great achievement!Please bring your mask to this class even though we will be working outside.Note: For safety: you must be 15 years or over to attend any of our classes.

Please note: Public dates for this class require at least 4 guests to run. In the unlikely event that we don't reach this number, we'll cancel the class; in this case we'll inform you and allow you to get a refund or reschedule, so please watch your email/SMS one day prior to the class.

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