I took a clay wheel class with my crafty friend Connie! It was so fun!

First we had a tour of the studio – there’s a wheel room, decorating room, drying area, kiln space, glaze room, and show room.

There’s even a a window area where used clay can lay out to dry so it can be used again.

Classes are kept small – there were six of us in class. Our instructor gave a demo of how to throw a piece, then we all made a piece together. She made sure we all had correct posture while using the wheel. Then, we had maybe 20 minutes of open play. I even got to try the wheel the left-handed way (spins clockwise instead of counter clockwise).

I made three pieces total. Once we finished on the wheel (and cleaned up our stations), we moved to the decorating room where we added texture and designs to our pieces. Here, you can add handles, spouts, holes… It helps if you know what you want to make going into class. For one of my pieces I poked a hole at the bottom so it can be a planter. They other two I kept in a general bowl shape. Perhaps I’ll use one in the kitchen for sauces.

Our pieces have to dry for a month and then I’ll be back to glaze them all. I’m definitely loving this much more than handbuilding and I want to get in more wheel time. Pieces look super polished even for beginner level students.

Oh, and I got to wear the coolest apron with a split bottom so it covered my pants nicely while using the wheel. Let me demonstrate…