Pottery Lessons
Take your pottery skills to a new level in a relaxing and creative environment. Suitable for complete beginners and skilled potters alike.
We have comfortable studio space with 6 modern wheels (plus teaching wheel) as we feel it’s very important to work on your own wheel.
We run termly 10-week lesson blocks throughout the year (Autumn, Spring & Summer Terms), alongside one-to-one lessons.
**Our Autumn Term 10-week lesson blocks are available to book now**
Lesson Blocks:
Our termly 10-week lesson blocks will explore different themes and forms (but will have inbuilt flexibility). At the end of the block you may select your favourite piece/pieces (see details below) to be glazed and fired.
Each lesson will be 2.5 hours in duration, with a short break for tea, coffee, biscuits & possibly cake! We feel that this gives you a more relaxed timeframe within which to learn and throw, with adequate time for setting up and clearing away.
Lesson 1 - Tuesday 8th September
Lesson 2 - Tuesday 15th September
Lesson 3 - Tuesday 22nd September
Lesson 4 - Tuesday 29th September
Lesson 5 - Tuesday 6th October
Lesson 6 - Tuesday 13th October
Lesson 7 - Tuesday 20th October
Break for half-term (w/b 26th October)
Lesson 8 - Tuesday 3rd November
Lesson 9 - Tuesday 10th November
Lesson 10 - Tuesday 17th November
Lesson 1 - Thursday 10th September
Lesson 2 - Thursday 17th September
Lesson 3 - Thursday 24th September
Lesson 4 - Thursday 1st October
Lesson 5 - Thursday 8th October
Lesson 6 - Thursday 15th October
Lesson 7 - Thursday 22nd October
Break for half-term (w/b 26th October)
Lesson 8 - Thursday 5th November
Lesson 9 - Thursday 12th November
Lesson 10 - Thursday 19th November
Scoop-up lessons - if you are not able to make one of the lessons in your block, you may attend one of our 'scoop-up/catch-up' sessions. We are sorry, but we cannot accommodate change of days/lesson times as this affects the cohesion of the group.
We will be running these sessions on Monday 26th October 0930-1200 and in the evening 1830-2100. These must be booked with our teachers and we can take a maximum of 6 participants on each session on a first-book-first-serve basis.
Maximum number of participants = 6
£395 per block
All tools with be provided, but if you have your favourites, do bring them along!
We have studio aprons and towels available.
This is a working pottery studio, and as such, we try to limit our impact on the environment as much as we can. We reuse and recycle both water and clay and try to be as selective as we can about what we fire and will be encouraging participants to do the same.
Lisa has a keen eye for form and functionality, so please don’t worry, she will always be on hand to ensure you get the best from your pots – comfortable handles on your mugs, non-drip teapots and spouts, here we come!
We will fire a maximum of 5 small pieces made during the lesson block. However, if you wish to keep further pieces or they are particularly large, we can fire these at a cost of £5/kg. Only items made and glazed at Binnie Pottery can be fired in our kilns.
Please note - this is an adult pottery class.
Children under 18 are welcome at the pottery by separate arrangement.
A typical 10-week block may look something like this:
Here’s a breakdown of the block:
Week 1: Clay preparation and centering. Practice throwing cylinders by pulling even walls.
Week 2: Cylinder practice and introduce shapes. Widen and narrow cylinders to create curved mug bodies.
Week 3: Creating larger cylinder forms - utensil pots, vases, beer steins.
Week 4: Handles, lugs and spouts. Experiment with different designs and three handle-making techniques.
Week 5: Lidded forms - jars, pots, boxes.
Week 6: Bowl forms - tea bowls, dipping bowls, serving bowls and mixing bowls.
Week 7: Bowl forms continued - turning foot rings, throwing off the hump.
Week 8: Final making week - sets of drinking vessels, bowls or plates.
Week 9: Underglazes, glazes and burnishing techniques.
Week 10: Raku and Smoke Firing.
After the course has finished, we bisque fire your set. We will then dip them in our studio clear glaze to enhance your design and ensure food safety before firing them again for a second time. This process takes about three to four weeks, and your sets will be ready for collection. We’ll be using white stoneware clay, which, when fired twice, becomes food, microwave and dishwasher safe.
Throughout the block, all teaching will focus on wheel-throwing skills and techniques (although hand building techniques and skills are used with some altered forms).
ONE-TO-ONE LESSONS:
For our intensive one-to-ones, we offer bespoke pricing but typically, lessons range from £40—£60 per hour (minimum session time is 1.5hrs).
If you are flexible and can commit to a block of lessons, we can make this even more affordable (as it means we can fit you in around our existing teaching commitments).
We can offer a special package for 5 one-to-one lesson blocks of 3hours - This would be for 15hrs one-to-one.
For 10 one-to-one lesson blocks of 3hours - we can reduce the price further - this would be for 30hrs one-to-one.
Contact us today - or book below: