Summer Term Course Dates
13, 20, 27 April
4, 11 18 May
(Half Term 25 May)
1, 8, 15, 22, 29 June
6 July
12 week Intensive
This advanced course is designed for potters who are already confident at the wheel and are ready to push beyond technique into exploration, scale, and personal direction.
Each term is shaped around a clear theme, chosen to inspire and structure the work across the twelve weeks. The theme provides a shared framework for the group while allowing each student to interpret it in their own way, supporting both focused development and individual ambition.
Teaching is responsive and student-led, with demonstrations and technical input shaped by the needs, questions, and projects developing in the room. Rather than following a fixed sequence, skills and techniques are introduced as they become relevant, allowing students to work deeply and purposefully on their own ideas.
As the course progresses, students are encouraged to develop personal projects, using the term’s theme as a springboard for sustained making, experimentation, and refinement.
Whether you are looking to perfect your craft or push the boundaries of your artistic expression, this course provides the tools and guidance to elevate your pottery practice. Students should approach with a commitment to exploring their creativity.
What will be explored
Refining and pushing core forms (cylinders and bowls)
Throwing larger, taller, and more ambitious forms
Dry throwing and working at the edge of collapse
Altering, cutting, paddling, and reshaping thrown work
Throwing with coils and combining wheel-thrown and hand-built elements
Sculptural approaches to thrown form
Exploring surface through slips, glazes, layering, and decals
Developing a cohesive body of work informed by the term’s theme
The course is led by a highly experienced ceramic artist and educator, known for creating an energetic, supportive, and positive studio environment where curiosity is encouraged and ambition is nurtured.
How the sessions run:
Sessions are structured yet flexible. Technical demonstrations arise organically in response to what students are making, whether addressing specific throwing challenges, questions of scale, or surface development.
There is generous, supervised making time at the wheel, with close individual guidance throughout the session. Demonstrations often take place around the wheel as shared learning moments, encouraging observation, discussion, and problem-solving.
The final part of each class is devoted to cleaning and resetting the studio — an essential element of professional ceramic practice.
Who this course is for:
This is a hands-on, physically engaged course for potters who want to:
deepen confidence and control at the wheel
work at a larger scale
experiment without fear of failure
develop a stronger personal voice in clay
