Want to attend the pottery classes in New York City? This is the right page. There are endless possibilities to explore with clay while developing your artistic abilities.
In the pottery classes in New York, you will learn basic pottery techniques. Before we list the institutions where you can take pottery classes in New York City, let us look at the basic pottery techniques you should be aware of.
Basic Pottery Techniques
In this section of the article, we will be looking at the basic techniques that are used by working potters and ceramic artists. Some of these techniques include:
- Throwing
- Trimming
- Slip Carving, or Sgraffito
- Bisque Firing
- Glazing
- Glaze Firing
- Slip Trailing
- Raku
- Smoking, or Pit Firing
- Salt Firing
What can you learn from pottery?
Working with clay will help you live the earthly, intense, and passionate side of you. Pottery will teach you the following:
- Patience and Empathy
- Paradoxes of Life
- Accepting change
- Communication and relationships
Patience and Empathy: Clay has its personality and characteristics. For instance, no matter how good you might be with clay, it does not necessarily respond all the time.
Paradoxes of Life: Clay is full of paradoxes and interestingly, it is one of the most technically challenging mediums of art. It is simple, yet complex at the same time.
Clay is an ancient material made of earth and at the same time a modern material of science.
Accepting change: Clay exists in different states. It can be soft or wet, waxy, and cheese-like. When it is fired up, it takes a totally new look.
Communication and relationships: Whenever one chooses to work with clay, there is always a period of communication between the maker and the medium. It can also be between the maker and other people in the studio.
The Pottery Classes in New York City
- Adult Courses at Choplet Ceramic Studio
- Adult Introductory Handbuilding Workshop at Tribeca ClayWork
- Pottery Wheel (All Levels) at The Potter’s Wheel
- Handbuilding and Wheel at 92nd Street Y
- Colored Porcelain Tableware Set Workshop at Wilcoxson Brooklyn Ceramics
- Couples Night At Mugi Studio
- All-Level Workshop At Supermud pottery
1. Adult Courses at Choplet Ceramic Studio
- 238 Grand St. Brooklyn, NY 11211 USA917-547-8316
- Prices: $80 per person
- Cost includes instruction, clay, tools, towels, aprons, glaze, and the firing of one piece/person. Additional pieces can be fired for a $10 fee, cash only under $25.
Choplet Ceramic Studio offers 7-week classes for adults, wheel workshops, and other focused workshops that involve pottery-making techniques. Check out their classes and workshops.
2. Adult Introductory Handbuilding Workshop at Tribeca ClayWork
- 120 Warren Street
New York, NY, 10007 - prices start at $65
At Tribeca ClayWork, potters have access to hand-building techniques which is an ancient technique used long before the invention of the wheel.
You will also be taught rolling, shaping, forming, and glazing. Find out what classes they offer.
3. Pottery Wheel (All Levels) at The Potter’s Wheel
- A: 120-33 83rd Avenue
Kew Gardens, NY 11415
T: 718-441-661
E: info@potterswheelny.com - Price: $350 per person
- Classes are 3 hours in length, taking place on various days of the week for 7 weeks (7 total classes).
The potter’s wheel is a pottery teaching studio that serves clients in the Kew Gardens area.
They offer some of the popular pottery classes in New York City and their studio is made up of a community of ceramic artists who are qualified to support and guide the novice, or who stimulate and collaborate with experienced artisans. They have the following courses:
- Wheel Courses
- Beginner Wheel Courses
- Combination Wheel – Hand Building Independent Artist
- Hand Building Courses
See how to enroll.
4. Handbuilding and Wheel at 92nd Street Y
- The 92nd Street Y, New York
1395 Lexington Avenue
(between 91st & 92nd street)
New York, NY 10128 - Prices: range from $250.00 to $525 per person
92nd Street Y offers 4-week courses that cover a comprehensive introduction to pottery.
Their curriculum usually starts with fundamental techniques which include pinch pottery and other common wheel skills.
5. Colored Porcelain Tableware Set Workshop at Wilcoxson Brooklyn Ceramics
- 69A West St., Ground Floor Brooklyn NY 11222
Wilcoxson Brooklyn Ceramics offers a different range of classes at their Greenpoint studio.
At the end of their class, you will be able to apply colored slips to the surface of each piece to create speckled or striped patterns in blue, red, black, or gray. Find out more.
6. Couples Night At Mugi Studio
- Location: 67 West St., Ground Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11222
- Class Length: 3 hours. Classes last for 12 weeks on various days of the week.
- price: $175 per person. Price covers tools, aprons, glaze, and firing.
Mugi Studio offers classes that are perfect for date nights. There are hand-building classes, designed for best friends, families, or anyone who would love to do something different.
You will learn to make cups, vases, and teapots using techniques like coiling, pinching, and slabs.
7. All-Level Workshop At Supermud pottery
- Location: 2744 Broadway, New York, NY 10025/Upper West Side
- Class Length: About 2 hours
- Prices: $75 per one-time class.
- Price for 10 weeks $600
- A work-exchange program is offered each semester where students trade work for tuition. Students may apply for these positions during registration.
At Supermud pottery, you experience the thrill of throwing on the wheel. Instructions in basic throwing techniques with hands-on assistance.
You will be given projects to handle ranging from bowls, mugs, boxes, tiles, and other beginner projects.
They have pottery classes in New York City for experienced and beginner students. See class full details.
8. EarthworksNYC
- Location: 1705 1st Ave, New York, NY 10128
- Class Length: about 3 hours
- Prices: The tuition varies with additional fees for the tool kits, firing, towel mental, and bench time.
Classes at EarthworksNYC are designed to focus on one form of technique. Their classes are usually shorter though filled with intensive exploration.
9. Little Shop Of Crafts
- Location: 711 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025
- Class Length: Unlimited
- Prices start from $15. They also offer gift certificates.
Little shop of crafts has flexible schedules and rather than a shop or class, it is like a playground, where you can have fun.
At the end of your creation, you can pick up your work in 5 to 7 days.
10. Mud Matters
- Location: 654 10th Ave, New York, NY10036
- Class Length: About two hours
- Prices start from $60 and an additional $15 is required for firing and glazing.
Mud Matters has some of the pottery classes in New York City. They offer two types of workshops in their Hells Kitchen Studio: Wheel and Hand-Building workshops.
Your work will be dried and fired at an additional $15.
11. BrickHouse Ceramic Art Center
- Location: 10-34 44th Dr, Long Island City, NY 11101
- Class Length: 3 hours each session and there are about 6 sessions
- Prices range from $315-$435, including clay and glazes. Bech-time is also available during non-class hours on weekdays, evenings, and Saturdays for a fee.
BrickHouse offers some of the pottery classes in New York City where you can brush up your skills on wheel throwing and hand-building, or sculpture, sign up for the 6-week group classes at Brickhouse ceramic.
12. Sculpture Space NYC
- Location: 47-21 35th St, Long Island City, NY 11101
- Class Length: one hour
- Prices range from $65 to $95, there is an additional 8 cents per cubic inch for firing.
They have private and shared studio spaces, clay 3D printers, potters wheels, rollers, clay extruders, top-loading electric kilns, and a glaze chemistry room.
13. TryDay Night At BKLYN CLAY
- Location: 535 Carlton Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238
- Class Length: About two hours
- Prices start from $85 per person.
During the two-hour class in this studio, a skilled instructor will lead 7 pottery enthusiasts and spend the night away spinning the pottery wheel.
There are classes for kids, however, anyone under the age of 16 must come with an adult.
14. Artshack Brooklyn Ceramics
- Location: 1131 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11216
- Class Length: About 2 hours
- Prices start from $75 per person
Here you will learn how to throw on the wheel with an experienced ceramist. They have some pottery classes in New York City with no firing fees and you can pick up your creation within two weeks.
15. Try Wheel Night At Painted Spot
- Location: 229 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
- Class Length: About 2 hours, with 30 minutes of focus learning.
- Prices start from $85 per person.
Here, skilled instructors will guide you through the entire process, teaching you how to wedge, center, and shape clay.
16. Intro Workshops At La Mano Pottery
- Location: 110 W 26th St, New York, NY 10001
- Class Length: About two hours
- Prices start from $75 per person
- Private 7-week courses cost $350 per person.
Classes are offered weekly and for beginners, 2-hour wheel and Hand-Building workshops are recommended.
17. RNK Ceramics
- Pricing: $100 per person for a 2-hour session for their try-it-out lessons.
- For an additional $15 you can keep your piece and we will trim and glaze it for you. Pieces will be ready approximately 3 weeks after the class for pick up.
- 4-week lesson package: Pricing: $300 ($75 per session) per person.
- All materials are provided including clay and tools.
RNK Ceramics offers two types of wheel throwing and hand-building classes. They have pottery classes in New York City for adults and kids.
4-week class sessions are based on your availability and do not necessarily have to be consecutive weeks.
18. AlterWork Studios
- 30-09 35th Ave
Long Island City, NY 11106
Here they offer the following classes:
- Intro to Pottery Wheel – Thursdays 6-9 PM: $395.00
- Intro to Pottery Wheel-Wednesday 6-9 PM: $395
- Pottery Wheel in the Morning-Wednesday 10 am-1 pm: $325
- Weekend Pottery on the Wheel-Saturday 11 AM-2 Pm: $395
- Ceramics Intermediate: $425 (Tuesdays)
Check out their classes.
19. Brooklyn People’s Pottery
Brooklyn People’s Pottery has pottery classes in New York City for adults as well as kids.
The fee for the six-week course is $350.00, with an additional $30.00 fee for clay /25 lb bag, firing fees .085 cents per cubic inch Tools kits are available as an 8 pc kit for $30.00. prices are subject to change without notice.
For Kids: The fee for the class is $300.00 plus a $25.00 material/firing fee. Classes are limited to 5 students.
20. Dan Harelick Studio Art
Dan Harelick Studio Art offers some of the pottery classes in New York City for beginner hand-building, Advanced hand-building, Advanced wheel throwing, and wheels, and wine classes.
They offer summer camps and date nights as well.
- Beginners class: Class size: 8 persons
- A $100 deposit is required when registering.
- The deposit is not refundable or transferable.
In their Advanced Handbuilding Class, they will explore advanced techniques for under glazing to embellish with finer detail than can be achieved using traditional methods of brushing, sponging, and overglazing.
21. Chambers Pottery Classes
- 153 Chambers Street
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10007
212.619.7302
Conclusion:
Do you find yourself craving a little creativity in your life? Turns out, that taking any of the pottery classes in New York City can actually improve your overall health.
It might sound too good to be true, but simply engaging in creative behaviors improves the functionality of the brain, mental health, and physical health in general. Are there other pottery classes in New York City that you think should be on the list? Please let us know in the comment section.