8 Week Foundations of Wheel Throwing

Name: 8 Week Foundations of Wheel Throwing
Start: 2026-04-15T18:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-04-15T20:00:00-04:00
Location: 220 N. State Street, Medina, OH, United States, Ohio 44256

Schedule

Wed Apr 15 2026 at 06:00 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

220 N. State Street, Medina, OH, United States, Ohio 44256 | Medina, OH

Instructor: Shaun Chapman
Dive into the basics of wheel throwing in this 8 week course led by our very own, Shaun! This is designed for a true beginner who’s ready and excited for a comprehensive course covering all of the skills needed to throw a bowl on the pottery wheel.
This course will take place on the evenings of April 15th, April 22nd, April 29th, May 6th, May 13th, May 20th, May 27th and June 3rd from 6:00PM - 8:00PM. Instruction will begin at 6:00PM, it's recommended to arrive early to prepare for instruction.
In this course, you will be guided by an instructor and provided all of the tools, clay, glaze and materials to learn (or refresh your knowledge on) the foundations of wheel throwing. Our hope is that you finish this course feeling accomplished and confident in beginning to grow your ceramic wheelhouse.
Week 1: Get Your Hands Dirty
In this first class, you’ll get to know our studio, learn how to portion, wedge clay, and begin building your skills for centering clay on the wheel.
Week 2: Build the Foundation
After focusing and refining your skills at centering, you’re ready to start pulling up walls! We’ll encourage you to keep your very first standing piece so you can always remember where you started, and see how far you’ve come.
Week 3: Learning Shape
Now that you’ve learned the fundamentals of building a structure, you have time to concentrate on honing your skills. You’ll see how different techniques, tools and hand placements affect the shape of your bowl.
Week 4: Take The Wheel
It’s time to take the wheel! Practice makes progress. In this class, you’ll get to spend the entire class using everything you’ve learned to build a piece.
Week 5: Problem Solving
This week, together with your peers and instructor, you will focus on resolving any repeating inconsistencies seen in your beginning pieces. This provides you the opportunity to get tailored instruction to correct anything you’re experiencing.
Week 6: Building with Intention
Now with 5 weeks of wheel throwing under your belt, you’ll have all the tools and skills needed to build some beautiful bowls. Bring a picture of a bowl you’d like to use as inspiration, or flip through the examples we have in the studio. You’ll get to spend the entire class using everything you’ve learned to build a piece with the intention of looking like it’s inspiration.
Week 7: Dip Into Color
Explore the world of glaze and learn multiple beginner-friendly techniques to transform your pieces. You’ll have access to all of our common-use glazes and will have the opportunity to decorate your pieces exactly how you envision.
Week 8: Show + Tell
It’s time to celebrate learning a new hobby and reflect on how far you’ve come. We’ll enjoy snacks and refreshments. Bring your friends and family to pick up your pieces and show them off!
During the term of the course, our studio is open Friday (5p-9p), Saturday (10a-5p) and Sunday (11a-4p) to currently enrolled makers looking to further build on their skills. Enjoy the uninterrupted time working on your projects but please keep in mind no instruction or clay will be provided during this period.
No partial refunds or make-up instruction will be provided if one (or multiple) sessions are missed. Please make sure you are available for each week of this course before registering. Should any weeks need to be rescheduled on our end, a make-up date of June 10th has been reserved for this course. For enrollment cancellations, please email us at [email protected] at least 1 week before the start of the first session.
Please wear clothes you’re okay with getting messy and plan to remove all jewelry. Long hair will need to be pulled back and short nails are recommended.