Has anyone taken a pottery making (on a wheel) class? **(UPDATE)**

[Zebra]

I could use some perspective from anyone who has BTDT.

 

I have wanted to take a pottery class for years, and I finally felt like I could try an 8 week class this fall.   My expectations were pretty realistic going in.   I expected to not make anything for awhile, I expected it to be hard and frustrating.   What I didn't expect was to be completely lost, really hate it, and not want to go back.

 

I am complete and total beginner.   The classes are combined levels, and I am literally the only beginner.  The classes are 3 hours long.  The first day we spent two hours going over other people's work, and then I got a studio tour and a presentation on making a basic bowl.  That left me less than an hour to try to do something, and clean up. My mind went completely blank when I was finally sitting at the wheel and had maybe 20 minutes to try something.   It didn't go well and then it was time for me to clean up so I could leave on time.  The teacher seemed surprised that I wasn't able to stay after, and told me I really needed to spend extra time to get the most out of the class.   I have no doubt he is right, but I have no extra time for this right now.  3 hours a week is a stretch for me right now.  They didn't tell me a lot of things before the class started, and this was one of them.  There should be a FAQ somewhere. 

 

Week 2 it took 90 minutes to look at student pieces, a lesson on trimming, and then another bowl demonstration just for me.   I haven't even made anything yet, so trimming was really lost on me.  Again, it was a good demonstration but it was just so much at once.  I tried to do some stuff, and the teacher kept coming over to help, and some classmates were nice to offer suggestions too, but again it was pretty frustrating.  I still do not have a firm grasp on what I should be doing.  

 

I expected a beginner class where the teacher would be at the front saying, "Everyone, this is step 1....." and everyone would do that ONE thing.   And then the next step.  Then after you get to a certain point you can move up to a combined or intermediate class.   

 

I got a video on pottery throwing out at the library, and the instructor assigned specific tasks.   His point was that you need to learn the technique before you can expect to make something, and that just really resonated with me.   Like Karate Kid washing the car!

 

What I am trying to figure out is, is this class just not handled well for a beginner?   Or, do I have to wait and try this again when I have more time and mental space?   Or, do I just hate making potttery   :lol: ?   Because I got myself to go last week by PROMISING myself I could quit if I hated it again.... :laugh:  :leaving: .

 

 

Edited September 1, 2017 by Zebra

[HomeAgain]

That class is not handled well for a beginner.  I wouldn't find it a good fit for me and I'm pretty decent. 

Do you have a different studio you can go to?  Most classes I have attended have been like this: all members learn how to pound the clay to get out the air bubbles.  Together.  All sit down at wheels, together.  All go over the various tools and set up.  Teacher shows different ways to throw the clay and shape.  Free period to make your own work or practice.  Next class and those after, teacher goes around to individuals and fine-tunes technique or helps them remember steps.

[Bluegoat]

I haven't taken pottery, but my dh has.

 

It sounds like a crap class to me.

[Julie Smith]

I took pottery and clay classes a LONG time ago. I think I took them with my Mom when I was a mid to late teen. 

 

The class was likely only an hour long, and I would say we worked with, or tidied up from working with clay 90% of the time. 

 

We got a tour of the studio on the first day, went over the rules of what to do or not to do so your pot wouldn't explode in the kiln (is that the right word) and the rest of the time was spent in a classroom with a few other students and the teacher walking around helping people. 

 

I would be disappointed with your class, and complain about it. 

[Arcadia]

We have pottery classes here. They split by age and proficiency levels. The kids beginners class is for 6th grade to 12th grade and requires lots of patience, tolerance and hand strength as prerequisites. They expect the same for adults.

 

It is really hard to have a mix of beginners and intermediates in a class. Easier for a mix of intermediates and advanced students in a class.

 

The pottery wheel class locally has a class time and a workshop/open studio time. The workshop time is for any student who wants to come to the pottery studio and practice can come as the instructor would be there to supervise. However it is hard to progress if someone only attends class time as the practice isn't sufficient.

 

The pottery wheel instructor taught my kids ceramics and we have watched him coach his pottery wheel students for the optional workshop session after my kids class. Three to five adults would turn up and the instructor really watch and give pointers.

[Zebra]

That class is not handled well for a beginner.  I wouldn't find it a good fit for me and I'm pretty decent. 

 

Do you have a different studio you can go to?  Most classes I have attended have been like this: all members learn how to pound the clay to get out the air bubbles.  Together.  All sit down at wheels, together.  All go over the various tools and set up.  Teacher shows different ways to throw the clay and shape.  Free period to make your own work or practice.  Next class and those after, teacher goes around to individuals and fine-tunes technique or helps them remember steps.

 

 

This is what I was hoping for, and expected.   The teacher went through the whole process, at once, and it was just too much.  In his defense he's gone through it with me, two times, and came around to help me a lot last week, but I really need one step at a time.  The teacher is nice and I like him, but I feel like there is some sort of lack of understanding of just how much hand holding true beginners need.  I was extremely clear about being a total novice when I signed up, and on my first day.   

 

There are no other options anywhere near me, this place is a solid 25 minute drive as it is.

 

It's possible I am just dense when it comes to pottery, it just doesn't seem remotely intuitive to me.   I feel like if I had a wheel at home I could just keep trying and watching youtube videos until I figured it out, but obviously that is not going to happen.

[Squiddles]

No you are not dense, this class sucks and I would tell them so and ask for your money back

 

 

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[HomeAgain]

Pottery wasn't intuitive for me, either. :)  I have a strong aversion to stuff on my hands, which made it a pretty strange hobby for me to pick up 20+ years ago.  :lol:  But the more you do it, the more you're able to feel how the clay works and get to know it better. Since you don't have the option of a different class I'd give this one a go for a bit longer.  Chances are, you'll be spending more time each week on the wheel and your teacher will be able to help more.  At least, I hope so.

 

And btw, it took me about 2 weeks of daily work to be able to make something.  That's roughly....10 hours?  And it wasn't good.  :D  But after about a year I was more consistent and I had fallen in love.  And no, I still don't like stuff touching my hands.  It makes me a bad cook and terrible mom who doesn't do playdough or fingerpaints with her kid.  But I can do pottery.

[Guest]

I love love love ceramics. The class sounds badly done - I recommend auditing a beginning course at a community college, nothing with combined levels. And yes the initial days of throwing pots and kneading clay is tricky, no doubt, but this sounds like more than that normal level of learning curve.

 

When you're doing a cylinder, expect the first five attempts to suck. With a bowl it's going to be another three or four failed lumps. And do take advantage of lab hours for more practice. Any course not offering extra time in the lab isn't worth the money.

 

Now the teacher is right, you can't take the class without extra practice time, especially if you're feeling behind. You absolutely need that because it's not a cognitive process but a tactile one. Knowing the process of making a bowl of pot and being able to make it are completely different things, and getting it in your hands and fingers takes time and practice more than anything else. And if you can't spend time outside class I'd drop it and try again at a different stage of life, because it really is going to take 10-15 hours of practice to make those initial shapes successfully. Pulling the clay isn't as easy as it looks when broken into steps, because no book can tell your fingers how to curve or how much force to apply, what speed feels right for your working pace and strength, what body of clay is the right wetness and when it needs more or less sponging, etc etc. It's like reading about riding a bike versus actually going to the park and working at it until you're flying on wheels :)

Edited August 30, 2017 by Arctic Mama

[Zebra]

Pottery wasn't intuitive for me, either. :)  I have a strong aversion to stuff on my hands, which made it a pretty strange hobby for me to pick up 20+ years ago.  :lol:  But the more you do it, the more you're able to feel how the clay works and get to know it better. Since you don't have the option of a different class I'd give this one a go for a bit longer.  Chances are, you'll be spending more time each week on the wheel and your teacher will be able to help more.  At least, I hope so.

 

And btw, it took me about 2 weeks of daily work to be able to make something.  That's roughly....10 hours?  And it wasn't good.  :D  But after about a year I was more consistent and I had fallen in love.  And no, I still don't like stuff touching my hands.  It makes me a bad cook and terrible mom who doesn't do playdough or fingerpaints with her kid.  But I can do pottery.

 

This is some good perspective.   And I hate stuff on my hands too!

[cjzimmer1]

I've taken 2 different pottery classes (1 was a semester in college and one was an adult enrichment class).  Honestly I think pottery on the wheel is the hardest technique learned in class.  I never really did get the hang of it.  I actually much prefer handbuilding and have had a lot of fun with many piece styles techniques but wheel throwing,  I just do the bare minimum and move on to the fun stuff.  But if your only time to work on it is your 3 hour class time than you really aren't gong to get much out of the class, that simply isn't enough time to really learn new techniques, studying the outcomes, learn about glazing and practice.

[Zebra]

I feel confident that this class is not the beginner class I need, and I don't have the time to devote to it right now.

 

I signed up for 8 weeks, but you did have the option of signing up for a 4 weeks which was more per week but less overall.   Since we're only on week 3, and there are 10-12 other people in the class I asked if I could switch to a 4 week session and get the difference refunded to me.   I explained that I felt like the class wasn't beginner enough for me, and that I really wasn't made aware beforehand of how much extra time I had to put into it.  I'm not asking for all my money back, and the class will clearly be held without me so I feel like it's a reasonable request.    They can say no, but I at least don't feel out of line asking.  

 

Thanks for your objective thoughts, it helped!

[Bluegoat]

I love love love ceramics. The class sounds badly done - I recommend auditing a beginning course at a community college, nothing with combined levels. And yes the initial days of throwing pots and kneading clay is tricky, no doubt, but this sounds like more than that normal level of learning curve.

 

When you're doing a cylinder, expect the first five attempts to suck. With a bowl it's going to be another three or four failed lumps. And do take advantage of lab hours for more practice. Any course not offering extra time in the lab isn't worth the money.

 

Now the teacher is right, you can't take the class without extra practice time, especially if you're feeling behind. You absolutely need that because it's not a cognitive process but a tactile one. Knowing the process of making a bowl of pot and being able to make it are completely different things, and getting it in your hands and fingers takes time and practice more than anything else. And if you can't spend time outside class I'd drop it and try again at a different stage of life, because it really is going to take 10-15 hours of practice to make those initial shapes successfully. Pulling the clay isn't as easy as it looks when broken into steps, because no book can tell your fingers how to curve or how much force to apply, what speed feels right for your working pace and strength, what body of clay is the right wetness and when it needs more or less sponging, etc etc. It's like reading about riding a bike versus actually going to the park and working at it until you're flying on wheels :)

 

You know though - a three hour class should be plenty of time.  It sounds to me like they are wasting way too much of the time allotted on other things.

[Guest]

You know though - a three hour class should be plenty of time. It sounds to me like they are wasting way too much of the time allotted on other things.

It should be plenty of time to go over the initial demo, but not to actually produce consistent shapes. Some people pick it up quickly, but many students don't and need to sleep on it or take a break and try again.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Sounds like a poorly run class.  I am surprised they would have a beginner throwing on a wheel so early.  Dd took ceramics at her local high school that has a highly regarded arts program.  !st semester ceramics students don't use the wheel at all, but focus on fundamentals of handbuilding techniques.  2nd semester ceramics students start using the wheel and they don't expect them to have anything to show for the first 4 weeks at least.  And this is attending class daily for an hour with many kids coming in on their lunch hour or during study hall. 

[Carol in Cal.]

Like working with yeast bread dough and pie crust dough, pottery I think requires catching a feel for the consistencies and techniques that is not entirely possible to learn from videos.

 

To make something on a wheel you have to wedge the clay thoroughly and knead it so that there are absolutely no air bubbles in it and so that all of the clay is the same moisture level and temperature.  The consistency has to be just right, too.  I don't know exactly how to explain the consistency, but if it's too stiff you won't be able to center it and shaping it will be extremely difficult; and if it's too flexible you won't be able to get it to hold together when the wheel is spinning, particularly after you start to hollow out the middle.

 

I think that most classes that I am familiar with start with hand building techniques to begin to give you the feel of the clay, and then organically move on through skills until you are ready to scaffold to wheel work, and it's STILL challenging. 

 

I learned in a mixed skills environment, and although the instructor would do demos, it was not expected that you would then go off and try this--more so that you were gaining observative skills that you could refresh when you were ready.  I think I benefitted as much from watching others on the wheel informally as anything else.  I could see what you could do, and how slowly you would move your hands, and how often you had to wet them, and how you got excess water off of the piece while it was spinning with a little oval sponge, and how even if it looked perfect, it could suddenly collapse, and how patiently you had to just dig deep, calm your hands, focus your intention, and try again.  I also got to see how majestic the results could be if you were really good.  So I would say that you are actually really lucky to be the only beginner--in my class there were few doing wheel work, and it would have been awesome to see a lot of others who were really good at it while I was limping along just learning to center the clay on the wheel, with difficulty.

 

I think that planning on extra time, ie 'homework' is reasonable for a class.  I agree that that should have been mentioned in a recreational setting, but I understand why it would have been just assumed, because it's typical for hands on classes.  It's nice that they allow you to stay late. 

 

There is something about ceramics that really sucks you in.  The tactile results are so cool.  I have a handbuilt vase that I made years ago, and I love to feel the inside of it, like the ultimate customized worry stone in that it fits me exactly.  Also, although I never became as proficient at wheel work as others, I can see that if I did, I could spend a couple of evenings in a clay studio and throw enough good pots to entirely fill my Christmas list and then some. 

 

Also, the glaze calculations and the cone system for firing temperature (I wonder whether they still use that?) can be very interesting, and I have only a passing familiarity with these, not the detailed knowledge that lets you do a good job with it. 

 

I really should get back to this again.  It was so fun, and actually I have a ton more learning that I could do. 

 

Seriously, I am so grateful to you for your OP.  I haven't thought about this seriously and comprehensively in many years, and doing so has made me realize that I would really like to do this again.  Plus there is a place with open studio memberships for it right near my house, so I could actually do it without having to drive very far.  Wow.  Thank you again!

Edited August 31, 2017 by Carol in Cal.

[Zebra]

So, a little update if anyone is interested.

 

They are going to let me switch to a 4 week class, and refund the difference.  

 

What I still cannot believe is their total lack of understanding of where I am coming from.  The manager gave me a long explanation of how hard it is going to be to get my work glazed and fired again in the next week, that I am going to have to come in extra, and what I am going to have to do to complete it.  The work that she assumes I have done, that has already been thrown, dried, trimmed and put through the kiln the first time :confused:  :confused:  :confused:  :confused: .   I have done NOTHING.   I still can do NOTHING.   I have very strong doubts I would or even should get any sort of product completed in 8 weeks let alone the entire hour I have spent on a pottery wheel so far in my life.   

 

There is some sort of very weird disconnect at this place.   I did look at a local art college and they have a ceramics program.   The 101 ceramics is handbuidling, and the 201 ceramics is wheel throwing.  Which is what a lot of you were talking about, the local art college makes you start out with handbuilding.

 

Anyway, I am not going to bother to go back and going to move on with my life now :laugh: !!!  

[Squiddles]

Oh my...

How disappointing [emoji22]

I took high school ceramics and it was awesome, it was set up for true beginners. We started with the absolute basics... like talking about different clays and we didn't TOUCH the wheel until we knew how to knead the air bubbles out...

 

I would be inclined to write a thorough review (even if anonymously!!) just so they know there is a need for an actual "beginner" level class... because you could SO enjoy ceramics if you were properly taught [emoji175][emoji175]

 

And don't even get me started on the time wasted during show and tell [emoji35] you PAID for that time, you should have been learning and practicing instead...

 

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Edited September 1, 2017 by Squiddles