Pottery is one of the most ancient human innovations. This art originates before the Neolithic period—the earliest pottery objects date to 29,000 to 25,000 BC. To engage in pottery, shape pieces out of clay, harden them by firing, and decorate or glaze them as you desire.
- Our predecessors used clay collected on hillsides and beside streams to make pottery bowls. They added plant fibres, ground mussel shells, crushed stone, and sand to prevent cracking or shrinking during the drying and firing processes, then employed diverse methods to fashion their prehistoric pots and jars. The earliest vessels are not glazed.
- The Etruscans and Romans used moulds during the fifth and sixth centuries BC. The Mesopotamians invented the potter’s the wheel between 6,000 and 4,000 BC, a breakthrough that transformed ceramics production.
- You can make many different kinds of studio pottery or ceramics today, including flatware such as platters, plates, or mugs. Studio potters often create one-of-a-kind art pieces that may or may not have a function, inventing statues, figurines, and other objets d’art for their beauty and exclusivity.
Our classes teach you to do both. You can choose among three-hour workshops to make cups, create pots for succulents, mould a clay figure, or produce customised ceramic dog bowls.