What do you need for wheel throwing?
Crucial to getting into pottery, of course, is the potter’s wheel. Although you certainly don’t have to purchase your own right away. Many beginners first use the tools made available during weekly classes, or they go to an open ceramics studio where you pay to use the space, including the materials there.
Makes sense, because pottery wheels are not cheap. You’ll easily pay about a 1,000 euro for a decent one. Understandably, it’s not a bad idea to try out the wheel before you make your purchase. Some studios and ceramics stores also offer the opportunity to rent a pottery wheel.
In addition, of course, you need the raw material: clay. For a 10-kg block of clay, you pay about 8 to 11 euro, depending on the type of clay. How quickly you use up that clay depends, of course, on your enthusiasm. But a lot of potters use about 100 kg of clay per year. Fortunately, you can reuse most of your clay.
Finally, you need some tools. Much of the list consists of fairly everyday things that you probably have lying around at home: a bucket, a sponge, a wooden board, scissors, an old bank card, a ruler, an iron spatula, a kitchen scale, plastic wrap, an old towel. You should also have a space where you can leave your pieces to dry, like a table or shelf.
For the rest of your materials, you do need to go to the pottery supply store: a cutting wire, a cutting needle, an metal or wood trimming tool, a turning tool, and, optionally, a metal rib and callipers. A nice list that probably won’t cost you more than about 30 euro.
What do you need for sculpting or handbuilding?
You can also get started without a potter’s wheel. For that you need pretty much the same materials as mentioned before, minus the pottery wheel. You are then more likely to choose clay with grog, but that makes little difference in price.
What do you need to finish your work?
Once your creation has taken shape, it is ready for the kiln. And no, it won’t work with your kitchen oven, you need a real ceramic kiln . Again, most beginners do not choose to purchase their own ceramic kiln right away, as that comes with a price tag of at least 2,500 euro. And that’s not counting your energy bill.
Many potters fire their pieces (or have them fired) in the kiln of the studio where they take classes. You can also go to an open studio, where you often pay per firing session and per kilo. Or you can go to a ceramicist that offers a firing service. You can find a good spot near you in this list.
And last but not least ...
Yes, Google and YouTube can get you pretty far. But it’s a lot easier to master throwing, making moulds or sculpting when you take classes. Preferably with an expert who’s not only good at creating pottery, but also at explaining it and teaching it to others.
A beginner’s course of about 10 to 12 lessons will easily cost you around 400 euro. Depending on the pottery studio you may need to pay additional costs, for the price of the clay or glaze for example. In many cases you also need to be quite patient: waiting lists for a spot in the next class are often frustratingly long.
And that creates the perfect segue to say that instead of weekly classes in a traditional pottery studio, you can, of course, take an online course. One that will remain available for life, that you can re-watch and repeat if you are momentarily out of the loop, and that allows you to ask your questions in a community of fellow students. And those are not the only pros … Want to know more? Discover all of our courses here.
