How To Get Started With Pottery As A Hobby
Firstly, it has to be said, we think that pottery is a brilliant hobby with many benefits.
Ceramics or pottery is a vast subject with hundreds of different clays and different decorating techniques and options from slip to literally thousands of glazes. Then there’s a whole bunch of making techniques and yet more things to choose from with different ways to fire work.
We’re going to do our best to cut though the million or so options and keep it simple.
Do I need to be artistic?
Absolutely not. We’ll start by abandoning all worries about being artistic enough.
If you are artistic with a paintbrush that’s brilliant – you’ll be able to express yourself on you work in the way that you like. Pottery could be your new medium.
If like me, stick men are your level, that is no problem at all. Fling around some slip or let the wonderful glazes do their thing.
So, if artsy stuff was worrying you – that’s not a worry anymore.
Which method?
There a 2 primary methods to create ceramics – on a wheel or hand building.
Our experience is that potters tend to favour one method over the other. They are very different experiences and pros and cons to each depending on what you want to make and the outcomes that you want to achieve.
It takes many hours of practice to successfully throw pots on the wheel. It’s a very focussed technique but once mastered the making is relatively quick and refined.
Hand building techniques can be achieved faster than learning the wheel but the making is generally slower with a more organic feel.
Knowing whether to hand build or throw is a bit of a conundrum until you try both. We run weekly 2 hours taster sessions on the wheel alongside hand building classes and recommend that you have a go at both to see if you are drawn to one over the other.
What shall I make?
What are you going to make? that’s up to you but you can broadly divide ceramic work into functional and decorative. I like to make functional cookware and plant pots (I love food and plants). Other potters like to make decorative pieces or sculptural work. The options are endless.
Think about the things that you enjoy and that will help you to decide what to make.
Take a Class or Watch Tutorials
Of course we are going to recommend a studio environment because this is what we offer but there are real advantages to this. Apart from having experts on hand to support and help you, a dedicated studio environment takes account of the health and safety aspects of working with clay. These are significant and must not be underestimated if you are exploring clay at home.
Our studio has HEPA 14 air purification alongside constant air quality monitoring. Aside from that we have cut through the thousands of options and carefully selected some excellent clays and decorative materials to help you achieve your outcomes.
A pottery workshop or class will give you expert experience and tuition on hand. Tutors can watch you and help to guide you in the right direction. It’s also a great social!.
There are many online free videos to help support your learning but we think a bit of hands on help at the start is the best.
Everything is to hand and you don’t need to transport your creations for firing.
Learn the basic Techniques
We all have exciting ideas about what we would like to achieve but mastering some basic techniques can help build your confidence to grow your experience.
Repetition is important for learning but we are neuroplastic. Learning is great for keeping our brains active.
Don’t be discouraged by imperfections—they are part of the process. The more you experiment, the more you become aware and learn to perfect.