{"id":15745,"date":"2023-03-08T10:16:18","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T10:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cursist-courses.com\/making-pottery-at-home-heres-how-to-get-started\/"},"modified":"2024-04-17T14:41:33","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T14:41:33","slug":"making-pottery-at-home-heres-how-to-get-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cursist-courses.com\/en\/making-pottery-at-home-heres-how-to-get-started\/","title":{"rendered":"Making pottery at home: here’s how to get started!"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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We’re long past the time where you needed to go to a physical location in order to learn a new skill. Where you had to get your bike or your car on the road to take a class. <\/strong><\/p>\n

These days you can master something new from the warmth and comfort of your own home: with an online course. Making pottery is something you can learn and practise at home. In this article you’ll discover exactly what you need to get started.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What do you need to make pottery at home?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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First and foremost you need the main resource for ceramics: clay<\/strong>. If you want to throw your pots, you also need a pottery wheel<\/strong>. Of course you can also give your clay shape<\/strong> without a pottery wheel<\/strong>. Once you’ve created the shape you want, your work goes into the kiln. So of course you also need a kiln<\/strong>. Of course you don’t need to own one yourself; here are many pottery studios near you where you can rent a kiln.<\/a><\/p>\n

As you can tell, pottery tools can take up quite a bit of space. So it’s nice if you can dedicate a separate room or space to pottery, where you can follow along with the lessons and create your first pots in peace. Make sure you have a spot where you can display your creations. It’s a great way to showcase the evolution of your skill.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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1. The basic raw material: clay<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to make pottery, you need clay. There are three categories of clay: earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The type of clay you should choose,<\/a> depends on the type of pot you want to make. You also need other tools<\/a> like a bucket of water, a sponge, a spatula and some scissors. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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2. A pottery wheel<\/strong><\/p>\n

A good pottery wheel is essential if you want to throw pots. But the perfect pottery wheel does not exist. Which one you should choose, depends on your personal preference. Definitely consider the price of a quality pottery wheel. It can easily cost about 1000 euro. You can find a good entry-level model made by Shimpo for example. You can read more about pottery wheels in this article.<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course it’s also possible to make pottery without a pottery wheel. With just your hands and the clay you can create beautiful shapes, by using coils, clay slabs, or maybe casting or press moulds. But throwing pots on a wheel is and will always be a great skill to have. Especially if you want to make bigger pots.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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3. Glazing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Want to enhance your piece even further, and give it a finishing touch? Then you need to get some glazes as well. Glaze doesn’t just improve the look of your work, it also makes it functional because it’s now waterproof.<\/p>\n

Want to know more about glazing? Take a look at the these pages about the courses (How to use glazes<\/a> en How to make glazes<\/a>) or read this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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4. A kiln.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once you’ve finished your pot, it’s time to have it fired. For that you can’t just use any oven. Pottery can only be fired with a proper kiln<\/a>. You definitely don’t need to immediately buy one for yourself. All around you you’ll find&nbsp;potters and pottery studios who will – for a fee – fire your work for you<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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5. A work surface – a shelf<\/b><\/p>\n

You need a work surface (like a table) where you can – as you can already guess – work the clay. It’s a place to knead the clay and to gather all of your tools. So you have everything you need to work on your first pots, at your fingertips. Aside from this work surface, you also need some wooden boards or a wooden shelf where you can put your work to let it dry.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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6. A good (online) course and instructor<\/b><\/p>\n

A good course is another crucial ingredient for a successful pottery journey. Many pottery studios offer regular classes, but you can also find a lot online. If you’d prefer going to a pottery studio, take into account that you’re likely to end up on a waiting list. If you’re eager to get started today, you might need to be patient and wait a while until you can actually get started.<\/p>\n

If you want to learn pottery at home, you’ll find a ton of valuable info online. Many blogs and website \u2013 for example the Cursist<\/a> \u2013 are sharing tips and advice on how to get started with pottery at home. If you want to get good quickly, and can’t wait to create pieces that you can actually use, a structured course with an excellent instructor is the way to go. The online courses the Cursist offers make a great starting point.<\/b><\/p>\n

Firstly, our courses don’t just focus on the basic techniques. We offer an introductory course to learn how to throw, but we also have coruses for semi-advanced and advanced potters. And we have courses that focus on specific aspects of the pottery making process, like glazing, decorating, or making casting moulds for casting clay. <\/p>\n

You can also be sure that you’re learning from an excellent instructor<\/a>. Potters who have years of experience and know all of the ins and outs of pottery. And who also know how to teach this skill to others, and make even the most complex steps easy to understand.<\/p>\n

In other words: the courses offerd by the Cursist are a great way to get started on your pottery journey. Do you want to know more about the courses? Take a look at the dedicated page we created for each course!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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