This course is an excellent introduction to both handbuilding and wheel throwing, and covers the major building and decorating techniques used in ceramics. Students will gain a broad range of experience with clay in all its stages, beginning with handbuilding and ending with throwing on the potter’s wheel.
We will use three projects to shape our exploration in clay. Our first project will cover pinching and coil building. These techniques lend themselves to organic shapes and playful sculptures as well as unique functional pieces. Though coil and pinching are often the first ways we learn to work with clay, they offer many challenges that teach us about clay as a material. For our second project we will switch to slab building to make lidded boxes. This style of work allows for precision, hard lines, and sharp angles. During this process students will become very familiar with the wet to leather-hard stages of clay and adept at making strong joints and attaching slabs seamlessly. We will use slips and underglazes to decorate the boxes, and practice the art of sgraffito and slip inlay. For the final project of the course we will use the potter’s wheel to throw cylinders and bowls. Throwing on the wheel exemplifies symmetry in the round and can be used to make both functional and sculptural work. We will focus on the fundamentals of centering, pulling walls, trimming and glazing. Students will finish with a broad understanding of ceramic materials as well as building and surface treatment techniques.
This course is suitable for students with little or no experience. It includes all materials, tools, equipment, and bisque and glaze firings.
