Potters Wheel Experience Staffordshire

Learn to throw clay on this potter's wheel experience! Taught on a one-to-one basis, these courses show you all the basics of using a potter's wheel. By the end of the day, you should be throwing with consistency and pulling walls to create your very own pottery pieces.

Ceramic design and painting duo Mathew and Rachel are both born and bred in Staffordshire, part of the Potteries area famous worldwide for fine ceramics. As well as being an accomplished potter, Mathew is also a teacher, so you'll find he's methodical in his teaching and super patient too - just what's needed when you're negotiating a lump of clay and a spinning wheel for the first time.

Mathew hosts these full day courses from his home workshop on the doorstep of Trentham Gardens, the oasis of green and calm in Stafford. There's even a couple of comfortable chain hotels within walking distance of his artist's studios, making this Staffordshire pottery easily 'do-able' even if you're not in the Staffordshire or Midlands areas.

These courses start at the very beginning of pottery making. As you carefully prep your clay (it has to be just the right consistency for turning) Mathew will be talking you through all the processes. He'll tell you that the single most important moment is when you centre your clay on the moving wheel. Get this right and you're well on your way.

After that, it's all about the potter's wheel turning at the right speed to be able to shape your clay. That first hand gesture to make the clay move is certainly tricky. Before you know it, you'll be faced with either a wobbly blob or a cylinder with smooth sides to be proud of. Practice, practice and more practice is what's needed to succeed in pottery. Once you're satisfied with the shape you've turned, you will be shown how to (carefully!) use the wire to slice and move your piece off the wheel, ready for drying.

By the end of this potter's wheel experience you should have around half a dozen pieces that will be fired in the kiln for you. So not only will these hand-turned pottery pieces such as bowls and vases be a thing of beauty, you'll be able to use them too!

• One day beginners throwing course
• Create a selection of products from bowls to jugs, depending on your progress throughout the day
• Expert 1:1 tuition from a trained potter and teacher
• Choose up to 6 pieces of your work to be fired
• Firing your creation is included in the cost
• Maximium of six participants for focused tuition
• Refreshments are provided throughout the day

Topics Covered

• Clay preparation
• Centring the clay
• Throwing cylinders with the aim of producing forms of even thickness
• Developing basic forms
• Wiring pots off the wheel