ABOUT CLASSES
We have two 14-week class sessions at the Potters Guild, one in the fall and the other in the winter months. They are scheduled for one evening per week for three hours. There are two separate class groups, each with up to 14 students. Classes include 21 lab hours when students may choose to work at the Guild outside of the class hours.
FEES
The class fee is $475 and includes clay, glaze materials, kiln firing and lab hours. If you need to cancel your registration, we make every effort to provide a full refund minus a $25 handling fee, provided we are able to fill the vacant spot. Should the space remain unfilled we apologize, but we will be unable to provide a refund.
TAKE A BREAK
If you have taken four consecutive classes at the Guild you will be asked to step aside for a class session. This gives people who are on the waiting list an opportunity to take a class. Your name will be added to the bottom of the waiting list so it may still be possible for you to enroll.
SCHOLARSHIP
A scholarship of up to $475 is available for each class session. To apply, send a short statement of financial need and your artistic goals to pgregistrar@gmail.com. The scholarship deadline for fall classes is July 30, 2025.
QUESTIONS?
Send an email to the registrar, Debbie Thompson pgregistrar@gmail.com If you would like to see the facilities.
Constructing with Clay: Bending, Tearing & Darting
Taught by Richard Boehnke
Tuesdays, January 14 to April 15, 2025 7:00-10:00 PM
$475 includes materials, firing and studio time
Class is currently full. Please contact the registrar, Debbie Thompson, pgregistrar@gmail.com to get on the waiting list.
How can we work together to play beyond the round, flat, symmetrical? Together, we will focus on constructing dynamic objects outside of these assumptions. We will create with the guiding questions of "what if?" and "why not?” In this course, students will play, imagining and creating forms to manipulate. Building from our imagination and sketches, we will learn how to construct using a variety of joining and darting techniques, pushing ourselves to reevaluate what we think clay can become. Students will have the opportunity to create functional or non-functional forms, with a focus on developing a vision over the length of the course.
This course will be best suited for students who have had some prior clay experience and are comfortable making straightforward forms using whatever techniques you are comfortable with, e.g. throwing or handbuilding. We will focus on what we can create using a form as a base, as opposed to how to make simple forms themselves.
The Basics: Throwing, Handbuilding and Glazing
Taught by Daria Paik
Thursdays, August 21-November 20 6:30-9:30 PM
$475 includes materials, firing and studio time
Class is currently full. Please contact the registrar, Debbie Thompson, pgregistrar@gmail.com to get on the waiting list.
Daria has been teaching wheel throwing, handbuilding & glazing techniques for beginning students as well as advanced students since 2006. She also teaches brush & drum making. She has taught classes in clay at Glacier Hills, the Ann Arbor Potters Guild and was a student advisor in the clay studio for 9 years at Washtenaw Community College. In this class she will be teaching wheel throwing and glazing techniques in addition to exploring surface decoration using silk screening, slip trailing, stencils, and terra sigillata.
For Daria "Clay comes from the earth; art comes from the soul. Clay is like a blank state of mind waiting for me to make it into whatever I feel at the moment.
When I touch clay, I forget time. My passion for art stems from this basic premise: something from nothing, and the hope that the only prerequisite for art is a spark of creativity."
QUESTIONS? Send an email to pgregistrar@gmail.com
If you would like to see the facilities, this can be arranged by sending an email to the Registrar, Mary Avrakotos.
A testimonial from one of our students:
My experience as a first time student at the Guild was such a wonderful and fulfilling experience. The community welcomed me with open arms, warm hellos, and invaluable sharing of knowledge. I was so excited to enroll in the class, and due to my current financial state, the scholarship allowed me the ability to do so! I am deeply grateful for the generosity of the Guild and its granting me of the scholarship. Thank you to all those involved, I cannot describe how I've valued connecting with these incredible individuals, the resources, and this creative environment.
Alyse G. Ann Arbor