This is a one-off session to give you the chance to try your hand on the wheel. The teacher will guide you through the basics of throwing on the wheel. You will have the chance to try to make a few different shapes (cups and bowls are the most common) and then choose which one/s you want to be fired. We will glaze the work for you, which you can then come and collect around 4 weeks later.
Students who come to a Turning Earth class will be introduced to each stage of the multi-step process of making their first pottery pieces. Class participants spend roughly half of the time getting to grips with the principle hand-building techniques, and the other half mastering the wheel.
Firstly, your teacher will introduce you to studio life and its processes. You will then learn how to properly prepare clay, and some of the fundamental techniques used to make forms, such as pinching, coiling and building with slabs. You will also learn about the wheel. Importantly, how to centre your work, and how to begin to effectively form the various shapes that are possible using this technique.
When the pieces will be dry, they will be bisque-fired. At this stage, you can choose from and apply one (or even two) of the many glazes available.
Turning Earth pioneered the open-access ceramics membership model in the UK. Launching in 2013, they brought to London a model of community ceramics makerspace that had been developing in the US, and subsequently inspired many similar studios around the world. Since then, they have opened four studios: Hoxton, Leyton, Highgate, and In Production (a shared studio for more professional potters, next to their Leyton site). They run monthly memberships and weekly beginners and intermediate classes in each of their studios. www.turningearth.org
