Term 4 Pottery Friday Throwing Beginners | 9 Weeks
NZ$409.00
Term 4 – Beginner Wheel Throwing
A 9-Week Pottery Journey
Ready to go beyond simply giving pottery a try?
Our Term 4 Beginner Wheel Throwing Course is a 9-week journey designed for complete beginners and those with a little experience who want a more in-depth introduction to the art of wheel throwing.
Over nine weekly sessions, you’ll have the time to slow down, practise, make mistakes, try again and gradually develop the skills and muscle memory that make throwing on the pottery wheel so rewarding.
Rather than trying to learn everything in just a few sessions, this course gives you the opportunity to build your skills progressively each week — from your first centred piece of clay through to throwing, trimming, refining and glazing your own finished pottery.
No previous pottery experience is required.
What You'll Learn
Across the nine weeks we'll explore:
Preparing and wedging clay
Centring on the pottery wheel
Opening and compressing clay
Pulling and controlling walls
Throwing cylinders and bowls
Shaping different forms
Trimming and creating foot rings
Making and attaching handles
Creating functional pottery
Surface decoration and glazing
Developing consistency and confidence at the wheel
Most importantly, you'll learn through practice and repetition.
Wheel throwing isn't about creating perfect pots immediately. It's about developing coordination, muscle memory and an understanding of clay — and every pot you make teaches you something for the next one.
What's Included
Your 9-week course includes:
Nine weekly guided wheel-throwing classes
Pottery wheel tuition and demonstrations
Your own wheel during class
Use of studio pottery tools
Glazing instruction
Access to additional practice/catch-up sessions by arrangement and subject to availability
A relaxed and supportive studio environment
What to Bring
Please wear comfortable clothes you don’t mind getting clay on, closed-toe shoes and tie back long hair. Loose jewellery should be removed before using the wheel. Pottery Embassy is not responsible for damage to clothing or personal belongings.
5L bucket with a secure lid: Your bucket is used to collect clay water, slip and clay waste during class. Clay must never be poured down studio sinks because it can settle and block plumbing.
You’ll take your bucket home after each session. Once the clay has settled, the clear water can be carefully disposed of over a suitable area of soil on your property, away from drains and waterways. The settled clay can be saved and reclaimed for future use. Your tutor can show you how the reclaiming process works.
40L Storage bin with a secure lid: The container creates a controlled drying environment so your pottery dries slowly and evenly until it reaches the leather-hard stage, when it is firm enough to trim, carve, refine or attach handles. Please purchase the item shown in the attached photo from Bunnings so we can stack them in the studio and maximise our storage space.
Sturdy reusable carry bag: Bring a strong tote or carry bag capable of safely holding at least 10kg of clay.
Apron, old towel and cleaning cloth: Pottery gets messy, and these will be useful throughout the course and during end-of-class cleaning.
Clay & Firing
Clay is purchased separately and is not included in the course fee.
Pottery Embassy-approved clay must be used in the studio to ensure it is compatible with our kilns and firing temperatures.
Firing is charged separately, allowing you to choose how much of the pottery you create throughout the term you would like to keep and fire.
Extra Practice
Learning to throw is all about time on the wheel.
Where studio and wheel availability allows, students may have access to additional practice sessions by arrangement with their tutor.
These sessions are a great opportunity to repeat techniques, work on something you found challenging during class or catch up if you've had to miss a weekly session.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is ideal if:
You've never tried wheel throwing before and want to learn properly
You've attended a short workshop and want to take the next step
You want more than a quick introduction to pottery
You'd like regular creative time each week
You want to develop confidence and independence on the pottery wheel
You enjoy learning slowly, practising and seeing your skills develop over time
You don't need to consider yourself artistic or creative to join.
You just need to be willing to get your hands muddy, practise and give it a go.
More Time to Learn
Our classes are intentional so students have access to a wheel and can receive guidance throughout the course.
A minimum of 5 enrolled students is required for this Term 4 course to go ahead.
If the minimum number of enrolments is not reached, Pottery Embassy will contact enrolled students before the course begins and provide options regarding their booking.
Nine Weeks. One Wheel. A Lot of Clay.
Learning pottery isn't about mastering the wheel overnight.
It's about showing up each week, getting your hands back into the clay and noticing that something that felt impossible in Week 1 suddenly starts making sense.
Over nine weeks you'll have the opportunity to learn, practise, experiment, make mistakes, improve and begin developing your own relationship with clay.
Come spend Term 4 at Pottery Embassy and discover just how much you can create.
One thing I particularly like about the 9-week format is that it clearly differentiates this from your shorter beginner course: the short course is “give pottery a go”, while the Term 4 course is “I want to actually learn wheel throwing.”That makes it easier to sell both without them competing with each other.
Your 9-Week Pottery Journey
Week 1 — Meet the Wheel
Get comfortable in the studio and learn how the pottery wheel works. We’ll cover preparing and wedging clay, body positioning, wheel control and the all-important first skill: centring clay.
You’ll begin opening your clay and creating your first simple forms.
Week 2 — Finding Your Centre
We’ll continue working on centring, opening and pulling walls.
This week is all about repetition and beginning to understand how pressure, speed and hand positioning work together.
Expect wonky pots — they’re part of learning!
Week 3 — Building Better Forms
Now that the basic movements are becoming more familiar, we’ll start working on creating more consistent cylinders and simple functional forms.
You’ll begin thinking about height, shape, wall thickness and proportion.
Week 4 — Bowls & Shaping
Learn how small changes in hand position can transform a cylinder into different forms.
We’ll explore bowls, curves and shaping techniques while continuing to improve your control and consistency on the wheel.
Week 5 — Trimming & Finishing
Good pottery doesn't end when it comes off the wheel.
You’ll learn how to trim leather-hard pieces, refine their shape, create foot rings and turn a freshly thrown pot into a more considered finished form.
Week 6 — Mugs, Handles & Functional Pottery
Put your developing skills together to create functional pieces such as mugs and cups.
We’ll look at pulling and attaching handles, joining clay correctly and thinking about how your pottery feels in the hand as well as how it looks.
Week 7 — Developing Your Own Forms
This is where you can start becoming more adventurous.
Use the techniques you've learned to revisit your favourite forms, work toward more consistent sets or challenge yourself with new shapes.
The focus begins shifting from simply learning the movements to making more intentional pottery.
Week 8 — Surface, Glaze & Your Creative Style
Explore how colour, glaze and surface treatment can completely change a piece.
You’ll learn about preparing your pottery for glazing and begin making creative decisions about how you want your finished work to look.
Week 9 — Bringing It All Together
Your final week is an opportunity to bring together everything you've learned throughout the term.
Revisit techniques you want to strengthen, work on your favourite forms and reflect on just how far you've come since Week 1.
By now, the movements that initially felt completely unfamiliar should be starting to feel much more natural.
And hopefully, you'll already be thinking about what you want to make next.