Introduction to Pottery 3D Campus

This course is ideal for complete beginners who have never worked with clay before, or for those with some experience, who’d like to brush up their skills and gain confidence in throwing, hand building and glazing.

What The Course is About:

You will be taught the basic skills of working with clay including throwing (working on the pottery wheel), pinching, coiling, slab building and working with slump moulds. You’ll be introduced to a variety of materials including stoneware clays, underglazes and coloured slips, and later in the term decorating with oxides and glazing is introduced. For each new project, you’ll have demos, handouts or see examples of artist’s work to inspire you. The course is designed to be taken a term at a time, or complete all 3 terms to gain confidence and a good understanding of working with clay. Each term the balance of hand building to throwing varies, with focus on different hand building and decorating techniques.

3D Campus: Bentley House, 4a Disraeli Road, SW15 2DS (Directly opposite Putney Library). N.B Classes in 3D Studio 1 and 3D Sculpture Studio are not yet accessible for wheelchair users (Staircase leading to first floor). Please speak to the Admin Team who will advise an alternative course at Oxford Road (lift) or ground floor 3D Campus.

Materials Required:

For the first lesson, please bring:

A notebook or sketchbook and something to write with.
A waterproof, wipeable apron.
Any pottery tools you already have.
A digital camera or camera phone to record your work, if possible.

Communal tools and aprons are available to help you get started. Basic pottery tools can also be purchased from the school shop.

Clay, slips, glazes and colouring materials are provided. Stoneware, earthenware (terracotta) and porcelain clays are available. Your clay work will be weighed before firing, and a charge will be made to cover the clay, two firings, and glaze or colouring materials.

Previous Experience:

Suitable for complete beginners who have never worked with clay or learners who have not worked with clay for a while or need to gain confidence.

End of course:

What will I achieve? You will learn the basic principles of working with clay and gain a good grounding of the technical processes involved. You will develop a feel for the optimal consistency and strength of clay at different stages of the making and decorating process. You’ll have been introduced to a variety of decorating materials including slips, underglazes and glazes and you’ll have an understanding of how to apply them to achieve an array of interesting results. The aim of the course is to help you to develop your understanding of clay as a medium of expression for the ceramic artist