I’ve been teaching throwing classes at my studio, the Glasgow Ceramics Studio, now for the better part of 2010. It’s been really fantastic and I’ve met some lovely and very creative people, many of whom live or work in my local community as well. I have to say that it’s one of the nicest, most satisfying and most interesting jobs I’ve ever had.

There’s been great feedback too – with people thoroughly enjoying the classes and some folks have even come back for a continuing course (called Throwing for Continuing Beginners). I think one of the best things about it is seeing the raw talent and unselfconscious creativity that is evident in the work of people who have, in many cases, never touched clay before. I always find that incredibly inspirational.

The focus in the classes is to have a nice, relaxing time and unwind after work while learning a new skill. We always open the classes with a hot cup of tea or coffee and have a laugh and a chat over some snacks. This helps everyone wind down and prepare for reaching into their creative side.

The beginners course is designed to give a solid grounding in throwing and decorating techniques. You get some basic clay knowledge which will serve you well if you choose to continue working with the medium. I even throw in a bit of basic glaze theory for those so inclined.

Our studio also offers evening classes in handbuilding techniques (taught by my colleague, Susan O’Byrne), so you can always give that a go next, to explore some of the other creative possibilities in ceramics. And conveniently, the price includes all materials and firings, and all tools and equipment is provided, so there are no extra costs at all. All you need to bring is yourself.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 at 1:26 pm and is filed under Ceramics, Glasgow Ceramics Studio, Scotland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.