Shape, Batter and Roll - Hand Building Pottery Class

Shape, batter and roll. This is a pottery handbuilding class, where you will learn to create pottery pieces, without using a throwing wheel.  The pinch pot method is one of the oldest and simplest ways of making pottery. It is also very personal - your thumb pressing into the clay and pinching until you achieve the desired effect. You will be learning a technique that started as early as 28,000 BC, and all you need are your hands, the clay and a few simple tools.

In the 90 minutes you will cover all the aspects of handbuilding. As well as pinching you will be coiling and slab rolling. It may all sound very basic, but really once you are master of the coil you can produce just about anything, and the results are beautiful.  Wear old clothes and shorter nails are better, as you are definitely going to get stuck in.

Now there are things to bear in mind before your pot goes into fire. The worst - it may break, it will shrink - 15% as it dries out, cracks are not unknown and the textures you have created may alter in the final result.  All potters will tell you that certain disasters are inevitable, but they make the successes all the sweeter. You are not building Rome in a day.

Please feel free to bring your own drinks and snacks - this is Friday night after all and meant to be enjoyed as a very good start to the weekend.

Also beware - this class is very addictive. One plate is never enough.