Throwing and Handbuilding Sat., October 18, 2025 - November 15, 2025 10:00 am-1:00 pm
2025-10-18 10:00 - 2025-11-15 13:00 (America/New_York) | Shoulder Cat Studio, 3112 N Peary St, Arlington, VA, 22207, United States
Note: This is a pet-friendly studio. While cleaning is regularly done, there will most likely be allergens present. Pets are welcomed with permission only.
During this 5-week pottery class, students will work on throwing pottery on the wheel as well as handbuild with a variety of techniques. While this class is best for advanced beginners and intermediate potters, beginners to either the wheel or handbuilding will also benefit from the class. Pottery terminology, skills, and glazing techniques will be discussed.
The class fee includes 15 pounds of clay, oxides, glaze, firings, and storage space.
There are general pottery supplies for use in the studio. Personal tool kits are also available to purchase for $15. An apron and towel will be provided, though you can bring your own. Additional clay (recycled clay is free), firings, special lusters, underglaze transfers and overglaze decals can be purchased for a fee.
A maximum of 4 students will be in the class, allowing for plenty of hands-on guidance as needed. You must be able to attend all five sessions as no make up sessions will be offered. Once the class is full, a waitlist will open.
Sample 3 hour, 5-week schedule:

Week 1: Review studio best practices. Demo and practice cylinders/bowls on the wheel as well as coil and slab building.
Week 2: Practice and demo trimming on the wheel and continue practicing coil and slab building.
Week 3: Continue practice and finish pieces from week 1 and 2. Pieces will be loaded into kiln for a first round of bisque firing.
Week 4: Finish all pieces made from weeks 1-3. Start discussing glaze and practice on test tile. Pieces loaded for second round of bisque firing.
Week 5: Demo and glaze bisque pieces. Glazed pieces loaded into kiln for glaze firing.

Finished pieces will be available for pickup 2-3 weeks after week 5. You will be contacted to arrange pickup.Please contact us if you have questions or need accommodations.
SLIDING SCALE PRICING
Sliding scale pricing is how we balance the equity scales and we use it to make ceramics education accessible and affordable to all. There are four tiers for pricing. When signing up for this class, please pay what feels right to you and your current finances. This is a trust based system, only you will know what feels comfortable and possible. BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ are encouraged to pay the Solidarity and Equity Tiers.
Full-price Tier – This is the actual cost for the class.
Solidarity Tier – This is a moderately discounted cost for the class.
Equity Tier – This is a further discounted cost for the class.
Pay-it-Forward Tier – This is a moderately higher cost for the class. This tier helps us continue to offer sliding scale pricing as well as offer low cost workshops.

Throwing on the Pottery Wheel Sat., October 18, 2025 - November 15, 2025 3:30 pm-6:30 pm
2025-10-18 15:30 - 2025-11-15 18:30
Note: This is a pet-friendly studio. While cleaning is regularly done, there will most likely be allergens present. Pets are welcomed with permission only.
During this 5-week pottery class, students will work on throwing pottery on the wheel. The focus of these sessions will be to help you on your skills whether you are new to the wheel, a beginner looking to build skills, or an intermediate potter looking to improve your technique. Pottery terminology, skills, and glazing techniques will be discussed.
The class fee includes 10 pounds of clay, oxides, glaze, firings, and storage space.
There are general pottery supplies for use in the studio. Personal tool kits are also available to purchase for $15. An apron and towel will be provided, though you can bring your own. Additional clay (recycled clay is free), firings, special lusters, underglaze transfers and overglaze decals can be purchased for a fee.
A maximum of 4 students will be in the class, allowing for plenty of hands-on guidance as needed. You must be able to attend all five sessions as no make up sessions will be offered. Once the class is full, a waitlist will open.
Sample 3 hour, 5-week schedule:

Week 1: Review studio best practices. Demo and practice cylinders/bowls on the wheel.
Week 2: Practice and demo trimming on the wheel.
Week 3: Continue practice and finish pieces from week 1 and 2. Pieces will be loaded into kiln for a first round of bisque firing.
Week 4: Finish all pieces made from weeks 1-3. Start discussing glaze and practice on test tile. Pieces loaded for second round of bisque firing.
Week 5: Demo and glaze bisque pieces. Glazed pieces loaded into kiln for glaze firing.

Finished pieces will be available for pickup 2-3 weeks after week 5. You will be contacted to arrange pickup.Please contact us if you have questions or need accommodations.
SLIDING SCALE PRICING
Sliding scale pricing is how we balance the equity scales and we use it to make ceramics education accessible and affordable to all. There are four tiers for pricing. When signing up for this class, please pay what feels right to you and your current finances. This is a trust based system, only you will know what feels comfortable and possible. BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ are encouraged to pay the Solidarity and Equity Tiers.
Full-price Tier – This is the actual cost for the class.
Solidarity Tier – This is a moderately discounted cost for the class.
Equity Tier – This is a further discounted cost for the class.
Pay-it-Forward Tier – This is a moderately higher cost for the class. This tier helps us continue to offer sliding scale pricing as well as offer low cost workshops.

Throwing on the Pottery Wheel Sun., October 19, 2025 - November 16, 2025 10:00 am-1:00 pm
2025-10-19 10:00 - 2025-11-16 13:00

Throwing and Handbuilding Sun, October 19, 2025 - November 16, 2025 3:30 pm-6:30 pm
2025-10-19 15:30 - 2025-11-16 18:30

Handbuilding Pottery Mon., October 20, 2025 - November 10, 2025 6:30 pm-9:30 pm
2025-10-20 18:30 - 2025-11-10 21:30
Note: This is a pet-friendly studio. While cleaning is regularly done, there will most likely be allergens present. Pets are welcomed with permission only.
During this 4-week pottery class, students will build pottery with a variety of handbuilding techniques. The focus of these sessions will be to help you on your skills whether you are new to pottery, a wheel thrower looking to hand build, or an intermediate potter looking to improve your techniques. Pottery terminology, skills, and glazing techniques will be discussed.
The class fee includes 10 pounds of clay, oxides, glaze, firings, and storage space.
There are general pottery supplies for use in the studio. Personal tool kits are also available to purchase for $15. An apron and towel will be provided, though you can bring your own. Additional clay (recycled clay is free), firings, special lusters, underglaze transfers and overglaze decals can be purchased for a fee.
A maximum of 4 students will be in the class, allowing for plenty of hands-on guidance as needed. You must be able to attend all four sessions as no make up sessions will be offered. Once the class is full, a waitlist will open.
Sample 3 hour, 4-week schedule:

Week 1: Review studio best practices. Demo and practice coil and slab building.
Week 2: Practice coil and slab building.
Week 3: Finish all pieces from week 1-2. Pieces will be loaded into kiln for bisque firing.
Week 4: Demo and glaze bisque pieces. Glazed pieces loaded into kiln for glaze firing.

Finished pieces will be available for pickup 2-3 weeks after week 4. You will be contacted to arrange pickup. Please contact us if you have questions or need accommodations.
SLIDING SCALE PRICING
Sliding scale pricing is how we balance the equity scales and we use it to make ceramics education accessible and affordable to all. There are four tiers for pricing. When signing up for this class, please pay what feels right to you and your current finances. This is a trust based system, only you will know what feels comfortable and possible. BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ are encouraged to pay the Solidarity and Equity Tiers.
Full-price Tier – This is the actual cost for the class.
Solidarity Tier – This is a moderately discounted cost for the class.
Equity Tier – This is a further discounted cost for the class.
Pay-it-Forward Tier – This is a moderately higher cost for the class. This tier helps us continue to offer sliding scale pricing as well as offer low cost workshops.
