Things to do · Arts and crafts
Make pots by hand, without a wheel
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
Pinching, coiling and rolling out slabs are ways of making pots without a wheel. A beginners' hand-building course covers preparing the clay, pinch pots, coil pots, soft and hard slabs and press moulding, and often decoration with slips and stamps.
Gentle£100 to £500 / $130 to $650A few weeksIndoorsWith othersUK and US
How to start
- Look for a hand-building or "ceramics for beginners" course at an adult education service, a community college or a pottery studio.
- Read the description to check it is hand-building, and what the fee covers. On one course, equipment and glazes are included but clay is charged by the kilo.
- Wear old clothes and bring an apron. If you later want to try the wheel, see the wheel-throwing activity.
Where to go
- WAES: ceramic hand-building and surface decoration short course UK
- Office for the Arts at Harvard: ceramics courses (registration open to anyone over 18) US
We opened these links on 13 November 2026 and found them to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
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Plan it with dates
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. Courses and classes have start dates and can fill up, so the plan begins with finding and booking one. Kit comes after the first session, once you know what you need.
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