Day: Tuesdays Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm Cost: $325 Location: 244 Commercial St., Nevada City, CA 95959 This six-week course is designed to give you a strong, repeatable foundation in wheel throwing while gradually building both skill and confidence at every stage of the process. Whether you’re completely new to the wheel or looking to refine your fundamentals, each week layers essential techniques so you can begin to understand not just how to make a pot, but how to move through the full process of making. Week 1: Foundations of the Wheel We begin with the core building blocks of throwing: wedging and centering. You’ll learn how to properly prepare your clay, develop consistency in wedging, and begin the essential skill of centering clay on the wheel, arguably the most important step in the entire process. Week 2: Forming Intentional Shapes With centering underway, we’ll build on those fundamentals to begin shaping intentional forms. You’ll start translating centered clay into simple, functional vessels such as cups and bowls, learning how pressure, speed, and control affect form. Week 3: Refining + Trimming Introduction We repeat wedging, centering, and throwing to strengthen muscle memory and consistency. In this week, we also introduce trimming, learning how to refine your forms once they’ve reached a leather-hard stage, adding structure, balance, and finishing detail. Week 4: Throwing + Glazing Introduction You’ll continue practicing the full throwing process while also beginning your introduction to glazing. This week explores surface design, glaze application techniques, and the foundational “ins and outs” of finishing your work for the kiln. Weeks 5–6: Integrated Practice + Guided Independence With the core steps now familiar like wedging, centering, throwing, trimming, and glazing, you’ll move into a more flexible, project-based rhythm. These weeks are designed to support your individual creative flow while I provide hands-on guidance and troubleshooting as needed. You’ll be able to decide which part of the process you want to focus on most, whether that’s refining forms, continuing to throw, or developing finished pieces. Finishing Your Work In Week 6, you’ll have the opportunity to glaze your completed pieces. If you choose to continue throwing during that final class instead, you’ll also be welcome to return during open studio hours over the following two weeks to finish glazing and complete your work. By the end of this course, you’ll not only have completed finished ceramic pieces, but you’ll also understand the full lifecycle of a wheel-thrown object and feel confident navigating each stage of the process independently.
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