Six week evening course in ceramics

Our studio is based in the creative bustling area of Leith, with lots of great local amenities. Public transport is good, with buses running along the street and the tram a short walk away. We are on the ground floor in our self contained studio.

Each class will run on Tuesday evening from 6 til 8.30. Over the six weeks we will cover a variety of approaches to making ceramics. Run by both us (Fiona and Chris), you will be able to benefit from our varied approaches and expertise. This course is ideal for complete beginners, but also suitable for those with prior experience who want to build on their skills. If you've been on a course before, we can help you narrow down what you might want to focus on or develop further. 

Most weeks you will be alternating between 2 or maybe 3 processes or individual pieces. While on the wheel Chris can help everyone individually, with handbuilt projects evolving at your own pace helped by Fiona. There are a few stages to making work in clay - planning, making, refining and decorating then glazing, and we will guide you through these. Your work will be fired for you- everything is fired twice.

It will include handbuilding. Firstly, the traditional method of coil building which is ideal for making unique vessels or sculptures. Fiona, who mainly specialises in coil building, will take you through the different stages of making and refining your individual pieces over a few weeks. We will also be covering slab-building, another popular type of handbuilding where you create pieces out of sheets of clay (these will be prepared for you in advance so are at the right consistency). We have a selection of press moulds for you to use for dishes and plates. Wheelthrowing will be taught by Chris; he will take you through the stages of centering, hollowing out and making a vessel starting with bowls. As you build on your skills and confidence at the wheel over the weeks you will be able to develop this further and try new forms.

Surface decoration is a big part of the course too - we will cover slip decoration (painting, monoprinting and stencilling for example), markmaking, and creating texture and pattern. We have a range of coloured slips and glazes for you to use that we make in the studio. We would encourage you to make some small test pieces/tiles early in the course to try out some different combinations of colours and textures.

Most of the practical demos will be shown in the first 4 weeks, with most sessions including a couple of different things so you can switch between pieces and processes as appropriate. We encourage students in between sessions to have a think about projects they might be interested in, and we can advise on websites/reading material/individual artists to look at for inspiration. We also have lots of ceramic journals, catalogues and books you can look at while in the studio. 

£280 per person, inclusive of all materials, use of tools and equipment, firings, prep and payment transaction fee.