Hand-building Ceramics for Beginners with Kara Pryor
Welcome to our 6-week beginner ceramics course with Kara Pryor. Throughout this course, we'll delve into the fundamentals of handbuilding, offering you a practical and enjoyable introduction to working with clay.
Kara Pryor, an award-winning ceramics artist will teach you various techniques, including pinch pots, slab building, and more. Whether you're a complete novice or have some prior experience, Kara's down-to-earth approach will help you hone your skills and express your creativity through clay.
Kara's renowned for her bright and bold decorative pieces that are designed to stand out, but whether your style leans quirky or minimal, her 25+ years of experience can tune into your tastes.
Instagram: @ceramicsbykara
Images: Kara Pryor.
What to expect
Week 1: Introduction to Pinch Pots (Monday, 5th Feb)
- Overview of Pinch Pot Technique
- Creating Pinch Pots with Tissue Transfer Designs
- Crafting Pinch Pots with a Foot or Designing a Pinch Pot Vase
Week 2: Soft Slab Techniques
- Introduction to Slab Building
- Crafting a Soft Slab Cylinder
- Adding Stamped Designs to Soft Slab Creations
Week 3: Sgraffito Design on Slab Plates
- Building Slab Plates
- Exploring Sgraffito Design Techniques
Week 4: Hard Slab Planters and Shapes
- Creating Hard Slab Planters
- Adding Underglaze for Color and Texture
Week 5: Animal Slab Shapes and Spoons
- Crafting Animal-Inspired Slab Shapes
- Designing Functional Spoons using Slab Techniques
Week 6: Finishing Touches
- Review and Finishing Off Works
- Glazing and Surface Finishing
- Showcase and Celebration of Completed Projects
Is this course right for me?
This is a great class for beginners to learn the fundamentals of hand-building ceramics. This is not a studio class - students will follow the course outline each week. This class does not use the pottery wheel you just use your hands and simple tools for your hand-building.
Materials
Included in the course fee is earthenware clay for the set projects, a limited colour range of underglazes for use, and firing of your work. Additional clay can be purchased from Art Est if needed.
Basic sculpting tools are available for use in class. If you wish to purchase your own, you will need to bring the following which you could purchase online from keaneceramics.com.au:
You will need to bring (all ceramics tools are available from keaneceramics.com.au):
- an apron
- hand towel
- a small round sponge
- a metal needle tool
- a fettling knife
- Sgraffito tool or carving tools
- a pencil case to store your tools
- a large(ish) plastic storage container with a lid and plastic bags to cover your projects as they dry
- a stamp to mark your work (optional)
- your sense of fun and creativity!
Will my vessels be fired?
Standard pieces made as part of your course program will be fired as part of your course fee.
About studio classes
Our class sizes are small, ensuring you receive the individual tuition you need. We have a maximum of 12 students per class.
Unless otherwise noted, prices *exclude* art materials. Click here to see a list of local art supply retailers.
To learn about our studios, amenites and how to get there, click here.