Pottery & Ceramics Course: Hand Building Intermediate

What you'll learn

Join our hands-on pottery course and unleash your creativity with our exciting pottery courses in Sydney!

This 6-week intermediate pottery and ceramics hand-building course is designed for students who have completed a beginner's hand-building course or have some experience with hand-building ceramics. 

The course will introduce a wider range of hand-building possibilities and advanced techniques. Throughout the 6 weeks, participants will explore various hand-building methods, work with different types of clay, and experiment with diverse surface treatments and glazing techniques.

The course consists of six 2.5-hour sessions, covering topics such as planning projects tailored to student preferences, a brief history of ceramics, and using four different types of clays. Students will learn to create surface textures, and decorative coiling, and make and use terra sigillata. 

The course includes slab building, slip trailing, burnishing, sgraffito, and creating small porcelain objects. Additionally, participants will explore clay stains, impressing, marbling, sculpting figures and animals, using oxides, wax resist, under glazing, and layering brush-on and dipping glazing methods.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this pottery and ceramics hand-building course, you should be able to:

• Plan projects, and experiment with four different clays to create small cups or bowls, focusing on surface texture and design.
• Create decorative coil bowls using Midfire Red Earth clay, and experiment with terra sigillata and burnishing techniques.
• Construct geometric forms or functional vessels from Midfire Black clay using slab building, slip trailing, and sgraffito techniques.
• Make small objects or jewellery components from porcelain, incorporating coloured stains, impressing, and marbling techniques.
• Model and sculpt well-proportioned figures or animals using Midfire White clay.
• Apply advanced glazing techniques, including wax resist, oxides, underglazing, and layering glazes, to complete bisque-fired works.

Course content

What will be covered in this intermediate pottery and ceramics hand-building course?

• Experiment with four distinct clay types, including Midfire Red Earth, Midfire Black, Porcelain, and Midfire White, to create small cups or bowls emphasising surface texture and design.
• Advanced techniques such as decorative coil construction with Midfire Red Earth clay, accompanied by terra sigillata application and burnishing methods.
• Exploration of slab building, slip trailing, and sgraffito techniques using Midfire Black clay to create geometric forms and functional vessels.
• Creation of jewellery components and small objects using porcelain, incorporating techniques like staining, impressing, and marbling.
• Introduction to sculpting figures and animals with Midfire White clay, focusing on proportion and detailing.
• Exploration of various glazing techniques, including wax resist, oxides, underglazing, and layering glazes, to enhance bisque-fired pottery and ceramics.

Upon completing the course, you can retrieve your projects from the Rozelle Office after they've been fired. You'll receive an email or SMS notification when they are ready for collection.

Intended audience

Who is this pottery course for?

This course is designed for students who have either completed the Pottery & Ceramics Course: Hand Building or have prior experience in hand-building ceramics.

Course materials

Materials provided

All the necessary materials are provided, including:

•  Midfire clay and porcelain clay.
• A limited selection of glazes will be provided for use throughout the course.
• The firing of your projects.
• A limited supply of pottery tools.

*If you have a specific colour theme preference, feel free to bring your stoneware glazes. Alternatively, the tutor can also guide the class regarding where to purchase pottery glazes.

What to bring to class

please bring the following to each session:

• Carving tools & sculpting tools
• Small fettling knife
• Clay wire cutters
• Guides for rolling slabs
• Sgraffito tools
• Scoring tools
• Timber sculpture tools 
• Brushers for glazing
• Stamps and texture-making tools
• Sponges
• Sgraffito tools and scoring tools
• A tea towel

Additional information

Please note the following:

• Please don’t wear your best clothing! Clay will wash out, but it’s better to wear some older clothes
• Wear closed-in shoes
• Following the course's completion, your projects will undergo bisque-firing and glaze-firing. You will receive an email notification when your stoneware is ready for collection from the Rozelle office. 
• While rare, pottery pieces may break or explode during the kiln firing process. Precautions are taken to minimise this risk.
• Students must collect their pottery within one month after firing completion and notification.