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This past September, I finally took a pottery workshop that I had been eyeing for a few years. This article kicks off what I hope will be a series of hobby review articles.

The Inspiration

Pottery is one of those hobbies that I always thought was cool, but reached a new interest peak for me during the pandemic. During that time, my social media feed was filled with creators, like the effortlessly cool Lisa Asano, showing off their works. Additionally, the concept of creating things that can be used in everyday life deeply speaks to me and my cottagecore delusions.

Prior Experience Skill Level: 1/5

I had previously taken one pottery class in 2022 where we used hand-building techniques. I did learn a bit about attaching during that session, but aside from that, nothing really transferred over. That experience was frustrating and my pottery pieces were underwhelming. This allowed me to have low expectations going into wheel-throwing pottery. I have also done those pottery painting things and similarly, my expectations did not match the reality of what I was able to paint. All this to say, I took a more reserved approach going into this one.

Week 1 – Throwing

Although I went in with an open mind and low expectations, I could not have anticipated what it was really like to throw pieces on a pottery wheel. Social media creators and other media we consume make it look so effortless. Let me be the first to say, it is HARD WORK.

We started the session by observing our instructor demonstrate technique and form while creating a bowl. Then we were each allocated 3 clumps of clay to make our own creations.

First, you need to centre the ball of clay on the pottery wheel bat (disc that goes on top of the wheel). You do this by smacking down the clay onto the bat. Even this very beginning step can take a few tries, but is integral to your piece surviving the wheel. After your clay has been placed, you'll need to press it down into a mound, cone it back up in height, and then gently guide it back down. This felt redundant but I'm told it helps make the clay uniform. On my first attempt, I felt like I was losing so much clay to my hands.

It's worth noting here that there is a proper form for wheel throwing. Your hands will react differently depending on the step you're on. However, for the most part, you have to be hunched over the wheel with your elbows locked to your thighs so that you are steady and don't get moved around by the wheel as you try to shape the clay. Holding this position for almost 2 hours non-stop is not to be underestimated.

Next, potters need to determine where the centre of their mound of clay is and poke a small hole. If well-centred, you'll then continue to press down into the clay until you create a tunnel. It was a bit hard to gauge how far down to go in order to create a stable base for your piece that isn't too thin or thick.

From there, potters will open, “pull”, and then shape the walls. I'll be the first to admit that I don't have the best upper body or hand strength, but this can be deceivingly hard. The clay wants to fight you as you manipulate it into a hollow structure. You also have to be hyper-aware of the amount of pressure you are applying to both the inside and outside of the walls. Due to the centrifugal nature of the wheel, the clay wants to flare out. This means you need to apply differing pressure on each side to achieve the shape you want. In the case of a tall product like a mug, you almost need to overcorrect and pull towards the centre to get that wall height.

As you can see in the photos below (taken at week 2 after they had dried a bit), it took me a few tries to get the technique of pulling the walls so that the base wasn't too thick and the walls had some height.

Taking each pot off the bat also required some technique and finesse. In some cases, you can see where my hands misshaped the pots as I was taking them off. As we kept saying in our class, it made for an “organic” look.

Week 2 – Trimming & Attaching

Aside from the skill of attaching, I didn’t really know what to expect for this class. Going in, I was under the impression that nothing more was needed to be done to our pots. Unless of course, we wanted to add handles and other attachments of that nature.

Our instructor informed us that trimming your pots is a crucial step, and some pottery guilds won’t even fire your pots in the kiln if they are not trimmed. Pots that are not trimmed have the potential to explode in the kiln and damage others’ pots.

When you trim your pots, you place them upside down on the wheel and shave away the bottom to get rid of excess clay. Additionally, you make them smooth and level so that you do not damage the surfaces you place them on. You can also take the opportunity to further shape or add grooves into your pieces at this stage. I opted to trim excess, carve out some rings, and attach a little flower for my pieces.

Week 3 – Glazing

For this session, we had a separate instructor to go through glazing with us. We started the session by reflecting on what we had learned in weeks 1 & 2, and how we felt about the process. A lot of us recounted how wheel throwing was much harder than we expected, but also meditative in a way.

This instructor also said something rather profound that I wish I had been able to write down in that moment. The sentiment of what she said was that often times in art, things might not turn out the way we were planning in our heads. Sometimes we just have to lean in and accept that the art may have a better plan for itself. She said it more eloquently of course, but it is something I’m carrying with me coming out of this experience.

To start, we took some wet sandpaper to our pieces and filed down any sharp or rough spots on our half-baked pots. After tidying that up with slightly damp sponges, we went in and marked rings around our pots in pencil. The point of this step is to create a ~1cm margin from the bottom for the glaze to stop at. If the glaze runs too far down the pot, it can cause it to stick to the kiln shelf and potentially break when removed. Any areas below the pencil line were covered in wax that we painted on to prevent the glaze from running too far. In the kiln, both the pencil and wax will burn off or melt away.

Next, we were introduced to underpainting. This is where you would do any detailed colouring of your pieces that would go under the general glaze. In my case, I painted the little flower I had attached to one of my bowls. After this, I protected the flower with a layer of wax.

From here, we moved on to learning about the glazes and the techniques that can be used. When it comes to the glazes, they actually intermix in unexpected ways. Unlike how you would mix paint using colour theory to get what colours you want, glazes come with an element of surprise. Although they provided us with chips to show how colours might come out depending on how you layer them, you may still get an unexpected result.

For example, there was a glaze called “celadon”, and one called “oil spill”. My tallest pot is dunked in the celadon glaze, and partially dipped in oil spill. On the colour chips, celadon and oil spill are bright cyan and black, respectively. However, you can see that the pot came out more blueish-teal with a cobalt crackled detailing on the rim as a result of this layering combo. Moreover, if I had reversed the order of the glaze layers, I would have gotten another look entirely.

In the case of my flower bowl, the exterior was meant to come out a cream colour with a maroon interior. Even though it didn’t go to plan, I don’t mind how it turned out.

Final Thoughts

I’m really glad I gave this a try! Although I played it safe, I’m quite happy with how my pots came out. I have already employed them to hold a variety of items.

I think I would take another workshop or two before I got a membership and went at it alone. Despite there being a decent learning curve and a lot of risk involved, I enjoyed the process and it taught me a lot about myself as well.

Pottery wheel throwing is something everyone should try at least once if they have the means to. However, it has a higher price point to entry than most hobbies, and can be physically demanding in an unexpected way. For this reason, I rate it a 9/10.