SIP ‘N’ SPIN POTTERY WORKSHOPS
Back for Winter 2024!
Bring your favorite wine or brew and sip through a professional wheel-throwing demo. Then, receive instruction on how to throw your own creation on the pottery wheel or by handbuilding. Clay and firing for three pieces included. Ages 21+ only.

Fridays
Click Date to Register: January Workshops are SOLD OUT | Feb 14 | Feb 28

Bench Time: Weekly bench time is included in all adult pottery classes. Bench time is held on Saturdays from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Bench time is on a first-come basis, limited to six students at a time. Bench time is not instructor-led. Bench time is a time for students to practice their skills in the studio.

Clay: Clay is notincluded in the class price. If you are taking a class for the first time, you are required to purchase clay during your registration.

POTTERY WITH JUSTIN [Ages 16+]
Tuesdays, 3-5:30 p.m.
Jan 7 - Feb 25, 2025
This class is devoted to the understanding and practice of the joys of ceramics. Open to all. No experience is required. The instructor will teach according to each student's skill level. You will learn the fundamentals of throwing on the wheel, hand-building, and glazing; so that by the end of the class you will have a portfolio of finished work. The main goal of this class is to create, as well as appreciate, expressive and beautiful three-dimensional clay forms. Finished pottery pieces are available to pick up 1-2 weeks after the last class, between 9-1pm M-F, after which they will be donated.

Member: $315.00
Non-Member: $345.00

POTTERY WITH LYNDSAY [Ages 18+]
Thursdays, 6-8:30 p.m.
Mar 13 - May 1, 2025

Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refine your skills, this class is designed for adults who want to explore the craft of pottery making in a supportive and casual environment. We will dive into wheel throwing, forming basic shapes, attaching handles, playing with texture, refining your work, glazing and finishing. Unwind, express yourself, and connect with fellow pottery enthusiasts with the guidance of a professional potter. Finished pottery pieces are available to pick up 1-2 weeks after the last class, between 9-1pm M-F, after which they will be donated.

Member: $315.00
Non-Member: $345.00

POTTERY WITH EMMA [Ages 16+]
Wednesdays, 3-5:30 p.m.
Jan 29 - Mar 26, 2025

This class is devoted to the understanding and practice of the joys of ceramics. Open to all. No experience is required. The instructor will teach according to each student's skill level. You will learn the fundamentals of throwing on the wheel, hand-building, and glazing; so that by the end of the class you will have a portfolio of finished work. The main goal of this class is to create, as well as appreciate, expressive and beautiful three-dimensional clay forms. Finished pottery pieces are available to pick up 1-2 weeks after the last class, between 9-1pm M-F, after which they will be donated.

Member: $285.00
Non-Member: $315.00

GET A GRIP: FOUNDATIONS FOR FABULOUS HANDLES with Lyndsay Meiklem Dean [Ages 18+]
Sunday January 19, 2025  - 9am-11:30am 
Pre-requisite: Open to independent potters &  students who have taken an 8 week pottery course
Do you find yourself avoiding making pots that require handles? Are you looking for new and easy ways to approach handle making? Do you feel like there is some trickery to pulling handles that you’re missing out on?  Through demonstration and hands on learning we will explore simple techniques that will help you adapt handle making to your proficiency level. Understand the foundations of handle aesthetics and play with coil, extruded and traditional pulled handle methods that will encourage play and practicality. We will troubleshoot common problems like multi-tasking, drying time, and more. 

Member: $70.00
Non-Member: $70.00

This workshop is for advancing knowledge and developing skills in a focused atmosphere different from weekly classes. While it will be heavily demonstration based, there will be opportunities to practice the techniques during the workshop to troubleshoot and gain insight from the instructor and other students questions. Participants are free to take notes, video, photos as needed to assist them in their continued journey to practice the skills learned in the workshop.

CLAY CANVAS: SGRAFFITO AS UNIQUE SURFACE DESIGN with Lyndsay Meiklem Dean [Ages 16+]

Wednesday February 26, 2025 – 6-8pm

Turn your ceramic surfaces into working canvas using sgraffito a versatile surface decoration technique. Sgraffito translates to “scratch or mark” in Italian and is easily adapted for use on functional or decorative work. Using colored underglazes this hands on workshop will cover basics including: design and simple drawing elements, transferring designs to clay, use of tools and methods of scratching and carving to create unique, expressive, one of a kind surfaces. Form and function will be considered and simple work-arounds will be demonstrated so that all levels of student can benefit. Glazing and finishing options also be discussed leaving participants with all the foundational knowledge they will need to apply to their own work.  

* Flat practice tiles will be provided for all students.  It’s best to practice this technique on simple forms before moving on to pots with handles or other functional elements. Straight walled tumbler style cups, cylindrical bowls or simple plates are recommended for ease of learning. 

Member: $70.00
Non-Member: $70.00

INDEPENDENT POTTERY
Offered Year-Round
Independent Potters are selected capable potters who work on their own in the studio with access to the studio at a wider variety of times during the week and on weekends when classes aren’t in session. The COMO Pottery Studio is designed to engage and support both the student and experienced potter as hobbyists, not commercial production. As a nonprofit organization that subsidizes the operations of the studio in order to keep the art form of ceramics affordable and accessible to the community, production with the intent to sell outside of the COMO umbrella changes the independent potter’s hobbyist status to a licensed vendor. Licensed vendors who utilize the studio’s resources to generate wares for private sales are cost prohibitive to the COMO making commercial production prohibited. Click here for more info about our Independent Potter Program!

FUNDAMENTALS OF DRAWING FOR ADULTS

January 8 - February 5, 2025
February 19 - March 19, 2025
Wed @ 6:30 - 8:30 PM

Join MMoA artist educator, Carol Mann, in the COMO Makerspace and learn to accurately represent the physical world as a two-dimensional image by studying the shapes within a form and the interplay of light and shadow on the object. Explore various mark making techniques using graphite pencils and learn the elements of composition and perspective. Whether you?re a complete beginner or someone who has always wanted to draw but felt uncertain about your abilities, this class offers a supportive and welcoming environment to begin your artistic journey.