Arts & Crafts

Handbuilt Pottery: Slab and Coil

Meets Thursdays · 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM · on Zoom Fall 2026 · registration open Free to audit

This class runs in the Fall 2026 session. Registration is open now; lessons, materials, and the class discussion board are posted before it begins.

Okay, so this is a class for people who've handled clay before and want to build without a wheel. We'll work in slab and coil to make bowls, boxes, and small vases, and I'll show you how the pieces actually go together instead of skipping the part where it goes wrong.

Here's the thing: handbuilding is not the consolation table for people who can't throw. It rewards patience and stubbornness, and it gives you control the wheel never will. We meet Thursdays from 6:00 to 8:00 as a working session, not a performance. I demonstrate, then I get out of your way and circulate.

You'll leave with a few finished pieces, joins that hold, and enough judgment to fix your own mistakes.

~erin

What you'll learn

Roll even slabs by hand or roller
Score and slip pieces for strong joins
Build box walls with clean corner seams
Diagnose why a crack formed in clay
Shape coils and bases without drying cracks

Lessons

Getting Set Up (Without the $200 Kit)
What you actually need to start, how the studio works, and why the dry air here is already working against you.
Slabs That Behave
Rolling even slabs, keeping them from skinning over, and cutting clean edges you can actually join.
The Join Is Everything
Score and slip, no exceptions, because skipped joins are why your pot cracks in the kiln.
Slab Bowls and Boxes
Building open forms and closed boxes from flat slabs, from soft-slump bowls to square walls that stand up.
Coil Work and Small Vases
Rolling consistent coils and stacking them into vessels with character instead of chasing perfect symmetry.
Drying, Surface, and Finishing
Getting your pieces safely dry, adding restrained surface decoration, and what happens once they leave your hands.

Class discussion

The class discussion board opens when the class begins this fall. Auditors and enrolled students ask questions and share work here once the session starts.