BEGINNERS | Introduction to hand-building and wheel-throwing

This is a foundational, beginner-friendly program for learning hand-building as well as wheel-throwing. Participants will understand the basics of hand-building techniques (pinch, coil & slab) and become comfortable with the steps of throwing & trimming (form: cylinder and other shapes that come from a cylinder) on the wheel. Participants will also learn how to glaze and will finally take back a mini collection of ceramics, made entirely by themselves.

What you will learn / take-away:

• Introduction to materials: Understanding about the properties of clay and exploring how they inform the use and application of the material.
• How to prepare and wedge clay (Slap & Slice, Bull’s Head wedging methods)
• Introduction to hand-building techniques: pinch, coil & slab
• How to 'throw' a cylinder
• How to 'collar' clay and arrive at forms such as a bottle / bud vase
• How to 'throw' a flat bottomed bowl
• How to shape a cylinder to arrive art different shaped cups (conical, bellied)
• How to trim thrown pieces
• How to pull and attach handles, how to attach to or more clay forms
• How to dry clay forms
• Introduction to surface decoration techniques: carving, fluting, underglazes, and stamping, as per student interests.
• Introduction to the basic chemistry of glazes, studying food safety of glazed pieces and identifying glaze errors.
• How to mix and prepare store bought glaze powder
• How to apply liquid glazes (Dipping, Pouring & layering glazes)

You can read in detail about the class schedule here.

At the end of the course, you will have made a small collection to take home.

Eligibility: No prior skills required (an absolute beginner is best suited for this course)

Inclusions: 

• Basic pottery kit and Apron (to keep)
• Clay usage at the studio
• Equipment usage: Electric Wheel, hand building and sculpting tools which are property of the studio, etc.
• Glazed pieces up to 15 nos., that are made during class
• Unlimited open studio hours for practice during the duration of the course (to be scheduled with A Ware Studio team)

Batch Size: 6 (A batch may comprise of potters from across varying levels of learning and skills)

Duration: 7 weekends (2 classes per weekend | 14 sessions) 

Timings:

• Weekend morning: Saturdays & Sundays | 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
• Weekend afternoon: Saturdays & Sundays | 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Terms

• Missing Class: You can miss upto two classes during the course. Make up sessions for a maximum of 2 classes will be provided on stipulated dates (announced on 1st day of course). The compensatory classes are on Thursdays only. The time slot for these classes is 2:00pm - 5:00pm. You can pick two slots out of five given slots to compensate for your two missed classes. After these dates, there will be no make up classes or refunds. There are no exceptions to this rule, including accidents, hospitalization, travel, family emergencies. There are no makeups provided after the last date of the class. There is also no make up class for the last weekend of the course during which students learn how to glaze.
• Refund: Complete refund will be provided if you request to cancel your seat before 2 weeks of course commencement date. After this date, refund will be provided only if your blocked seat gets occupied by a student on the waitlist or from your end. We will reach out to our database from our end to the best of our ability and try to fill the seat in your stead. However, if a replacement is not found before 2 weeks, no refunds will be provided. There are no exceptions to this rule.
• Transferability: The seat can be transferred to a friend or family member only before the class begins. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Get on the Waitlist!

If you've missed out on signing up for this course or would like to sign up later, get on the waitlist so that we can reach you in case of drop outs. You can also get on the waitlist for courses in the future. Sign up here!