Duration: 6 weeks
Time: Tuesdays, 6pm–9pm (18 hours total)
Dates
Week 1: May 26
Week 6: June 30
Develop your handbuilding skills in this immersive six-week ceramics course focused on slab building, surface techniques, and glazing.
Whether you’re looking to deepen your ceramics practice or move beyond beginner pottery classes, this course offers the opportunity to explore more intentional making — learning how to create pieces with strong form, layered surfaces, and a personal visual language.
Guided by established ceramic artist Clare Unger, you’ll learn a range of techniques for constructing, decorating, and finishing ceramic work while developing your own ideas in a supportive small-group environment.
You’ll be introduced to techniques and processes that can be adapted to your own interests, with demonstrations, experimentation, and individual guidance throughout.
What You’ll Learn
Slab Building & Form Construction
Learn versatile slab-building techniques for creating functional and sculptural forms. Explore structure, proportion, repeat forms, and methods for developing your own templates and patterns from scratch.
Surface Techniques & Texture
Discover ways to build rich, layered surfaces using embossing, mono-printing, stamping, texture transfer, carving, and pattern-making techniques.
Colour, Decoration & Testing
Experiment with oxides and underglazes to explore colour, mark-making, and surface variation. You’ll create test tiles and sample pieces to trial combinations before applying them to final work.
Glazing & Finishing
Learn glazing approaches that complement surface and form, including how glaze interacts with texture, pattern, and clay body.
What You’ll Make
Participants will create a body of handbuilt work across the six weeks. This may include vessels, platters, wall pieces, sculptural forms, or functional objects depending on your interests and direction.
Who This Course Is For
Suitable for beginners to advanced potters wanting to expand their handbuilding and surface decoration skills.
Some prior clay experience is helpful, but not essential.
Materials
Participants are encouraged to bring their preferred clay, oxides, and/or underglazes. Clay and materials are also available for purchase in the studio.
Shared studio tools are available, though bringing your own favourite tools is recommended.
A recommended materials and tools list will be provided before the course begins.
Firing
Firing is included for a standard volume of work produced during the course. Additional pieces can be fired at studio rates.
$720 per person
