Choosing a mug: size, handle and weight
Why 350 ml suits filter coffee with milk, how a handle should fit your fingers and what weight feels right in the hand.
Your first wheel class: what to expect
Wear old clothes, cut your nails and do not expect a perfect bowl.
Most people who come to our Saturday wheel class have never touched clay. That is exactly who the class is for. Here is what the three hours look like.
We start with wedging, kneading the clay to push out air bubbles. It is harder work than it looks. Then everyone sits at a wheel and learns to centre: holding a lump of clay steady while the wheel spins. Centring is the hardest skill in pottery, and most people need several tries.
Once the clay is centred, you open it with your thumbs and pull up the walls. Your first few pots may wobble, flop or fly off the wheel. Everybody’s do. By the end of the morning, most people have made two or three small bowls or cups they are proud of.
Wear clothes you do not mind getting muddy, and cut your nails short; long nails dig into the clay. We trim and fire your two best pieces in a plain glaze of your choice, and post them to you about three weeks later. Many of our students come back for the four-week course.
