Pottery Workshops & Masterclasses

Short, focused bookings, with no full course to commit to. A taster is a single three‑hour session for people who've never touched a wheel, good as a first go or a gift. A masterclass is a short run of one to three sessions on a single technique with a specialist tutor, for people who already have the basics and want to sharpen a specific skill.

Book your place

A young woman with braided hair shaping clay on a pottery wheel in a pottery class

Three people shaping clay on pottery wheels in a ceramics class

Handmade ceramic pots crafted at Turning Earth pottery studio in London

As featured in

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What to expect

A taster is three hours at the wheel in a small group, with a tutor leading. Most people who book one have never thrown before. You'll be guided through the basics and get time to try a few shapes, usually cups and bowls, and most people leave with something recognisable. Choose one piece to keep and we'll glaze and fire it for you, ready in about four weeks. Firing is £5 per piece. There's no obligation to keep anything; some people just enjoy the three hours.

A masterclass is a short run of one to three sessions built around one technique, like Nancy Fuller's class on coiled pots. It's led by a specialist and aimed at people who already have the basics, so the time goes straight into refining one skill.

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Person shaping clay on a pottery wheel using a metal tool.

Arriving on time

Please arrive 10 minutes early.

Each session opens with foundational techniques that everything else builds on. It's hard to catch up if you've missed that groundwork, and disruptive to others once the class is underway.

What to bring

An apron, old shoes, pen & paper, a towel.

An apron (synthetic is better than cotton, as it traps less clay dust). Shoes you don't mind getting earthy. A pen and paper for notes, as there's a lot to absorb in the early weeks. A small towel for drying your hands between steps. Clay, glazes, and equipment are all provided. If you booked with the starter toolkit, your tools will be waiting for you. If not, you'll need to bring your own.

Clay dust and your health

A genuine concern, not studio fussiness.

Long-term exposure to clay dust can cause silicosis, a serious lung condition. We ask everyone to wipe their work area with a damp sponge throughout the session and mop the floor around their space at the end. Clearing up is part of the session, not an afterthought.

Attending your sessions

Get the dates in your calendar before you book.

Please carefully check all the class dates on the course to make sure that you are able to attend all your lessons. Unfortunately, it is not possible to reschedule any missed lessons or join lessons on another course. Our classes run at full capacity and on different lesson schedules.

Firing and collecting

Work must enter the queue 3 weeks before your final session.

We fire your pots as they're ready, but the process takes time. Pieces made after the 3-week cutoff can be taken home as bisque (structurally hardened but unglazed). There's a small charge per piece: £2.50 per 500g of unfired clay, paid by card. Finished pieces are available roughly 2 weeks after your final session. We hold student pots for 1 month after the final lesson. Please make sure you collect them before then.

If this is your first time

Most people are a little nervous. That's normal.

You won't be the only one. Our instructors are used to working with complete beginners, and there's no performance involved. Just clay, time, and a room full of people in the same position as you. Long hair needs tying back, and long nails will make wheel-throwing noticeably harder.

Book a session

Choose a date and location that works for you. Sessions run across our London studios through the year.

Available

Material Memory: Sculptural ceramics in response to Donald Locke

Saturdays, 12:00pm–6:00pm

22 Aug

–

23 August 2026

Camden

Classroom

Camden

type

level

day

time

start date

Taught by

Hanna Salomonsson

More info about the course

Before you start

From

Book now

Camden Art Centre, Arkwright Road, London NW3 6DG

Finchley Road & Frognal Overground

2 min

Classes hosted at Camden Art Centre, a contemporary art gallery in Hampstead.

/camden

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345

340

##A unique experience with one of the Masters##

Turning Earth at Camden Art Centre
Teacher: Hanna Salomonsson

Taking inspiration from the ceramic works in Resistant Forms, the ongoing exhibition of Donald Locke at Camden Art Centre, tutor Hanna Salomonsson will lead participants to investigate clay not only as a functional or decorative medium, but as a carrier of cultural memory and layered personal history.

The workshop will emphasise experimentation, assemblage, surface treatment, and conceptual development. Participants will be encouraged to move beyond traditional vessel-making towards expressive, hybrid ceramic forms, with a particular focus on Locke’s biomorphic and mixed media sculptures.

ABOUT HANNA:
Hanna Salomonsson is a London based Swedish ceramic artist. Following a career in landscape architecture, she re-trained in ceramics in 2018. She also holds a BA in Art History, and this combined with her landscape grounding provides a unique vantage point for her ceramic practice. Hanna’s work draws upon the quiet lyricism of the Scandinavian landscape, as well as the rich, multi-layered history of her current UK surroundings. She is interested in how our sense of identity is anchored in our childhood landscapes, and her work aims to awaken memories, reconnect people with their surroundings and to inspire contemplation around the fragility of the natural world.

Hanna’s practice examines the boundary between sculptural and functional ceramics. Her work is produced using a range of techniques such as coiling, slab construction and various carving methods. Her process is based on relinquishing control, and she sees her pieces as an ongoing dialogue between herself, ceramic materials and the kiln. She uses a wide range of clay bodies and glazes to achieve complex shapes and surfaces, and she often continues to engage with her pieces post firing through the addition of contrasting materials such as gold leaf, epoxy resin and copper mesh.

Hanna joined Turning Earth in 2018, and is now based at In Production Studio in Leyton. Hanna teaches a range of courses and workshops at Camden Art Centre and Turning Earth Highgate. She exhibits regularly throughout the UK, and recent shows include Collect at Somerset House, Ceramic Art London and Craft in Evolution at Contemporary Applied Arts Gallery. .

Available

Intermediate Masterclass in Coiled Pots with Nancy Fuller

Saturdays, 11:00am–5:00pm

12 Sep

–

13 September 2026

Hoxton

Learning Hub

Hoxton

type

level

day

time

start date

Taught by

Nancy Fuller

More info about the course

Before you start

From

Book now

Railway Arches 361-362, Whiston Road, London E2 8BW

Hoxton Overground

6 min

Our original studio, in two glass-fronted railway arches on the Kingsland Viaduct.

/hoxton

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345

340

##A unique experience with one of the Masters##

Turning Earth Hoxton
Teacher: Nancy Fuller

Nancy will demonstrate traditional hand-building techniques learned from different Asian masters. You'll be guided through creating strong, even walls to form a beautiful medium-sized vessel. Special attention will be given to timing and specific hand movements. Most importantly, you’ll gain the skills and confidence to continue working independently at your chosen scale.

This workshop is aimed at intermediate students.

ABOUT NANCY:
Nancy Fuller was born in a rural village in Taiwan and raised in the countryside in Scotland. She graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee, with a degree in Fine Art Printmaking, and later earned an MA in the History of Art and Archaeology from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A Mandarin scholarship took her back to Taiwan, her birthplace, where she discovered the art of wood-firing. She then spent a year training with anagama master Suzuki Shigeji in Shigaraki, Japan, before designing and building her own wood-fired kiln in Aberdeenshire. Nancy’s wood-firing journey has since taken her across Europe, Australia, and the US, where she has participated in residencies and symposiums, continually refining her craft. Her story has been recently made into a film, by Guillermo Asensio.

Why try pottery at Turning Earth?

We run these sessions at all four locations: Hoxton, Leyton, Highgate, and Camden. Three are our own open-access studios; Camden is a teaching space we run at the Camden Art Centre.

We've been doing this since 2013. We were one of London's first dedicated open-access ceramics studios, and over a decade of teaching has shaped both how we structure our classes and how we look after the people in them.

Turning Earth is a social enterprise. We exist to keep studio ceramics alive and accessible in London, and we work to improve the studios and support the people who use them.

Students working on pottery around a table in a well-lit studio with large windows

Frequently asked questions

Practical questions about taster sessions, materials, and what to expect.

Do I need any experience?

▸

None for a taster. Masterclasses usually assume you can already centre and throw, since the session goes straight into the technique. Each listing says what it expects.

Is this a good activity for a date, birthday, or group?

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Yes. Tasters are popular for dates, birthdays, and small groups. Everyone gets their own wheel and works at their own pace. Our checkout allows up to two bookings at once, or you can book individual tickets for each person if you're a larger group.

What's included in the price?

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Tuition, clay, and tools. The only optional extra is firing. If you'd like to keep one of the pieces you make, we'll glaze and fire it for £5. You can collect it about four weeks later. You don't need to bring anything, but wear something you don't mind getting clay on.

Will I actually make something I can keep?

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Most people do. Three hours is enough to throw a few small shapes, and cups and bowls are the most common. At the end of the session, you can choose one piece to keep. We glaze and fire it for you, ready to collect about four weeks later. Firing is £5 per piece.

Can I buy this as a gift?

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Yes. Our gift vouchers cover any course or session and are valid for twelve months. The recipient picks their own dates and location, or you can book a specific class for them directly. Tasters are one of our most popular gifts.

What should I wear?

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Something you don't mind getting clay on. It washes out of most fabrics, but lighter colours can pick up stains. Avoid open-toe shoes because studio floors get wet. Long hair needs tying back. One thing worth knowing for the wheel: long nails will affect your grip on the clay. You don't need to cut them short, but be aware. We provide aprons, so you don't need to bring one.

Which location should I book?

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Whichever is most convenient. We run tasters at all four locations: Hoxton, Leyton, Highgate, and Camden. The session is the same everywhere.

What if I want to keep learning after the taster?

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Plenty of people do. Our 8-week introduction to ceramics covers both wheel throwing and hand-building over weekly sessions. If the wheel is what you want to focus on, our dedicated wheel throwing courses skip hand-building entirely.

Is there parking at the studios?

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No parking at any of our locations. There's some street parking nearby, and Leyton has a car park at the roundabout, but availability is limited and central London traffic makes driving slow. Public transport is usually easier. Each location page has full directions.

Can I get a refund if I can't make it?

▸

Once booked, fees are non-refundable. If you can't make your session, let us know and we'll try to find someone to take your place. If we do, we'll issue a full refund. Tasters tend to fill up, so this often works, but we can't guarantee it.

How many people are in a session?

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Twelve students per teacher. That's the upper end where one teacher can still give everyone meaningful one-to-one time across a three-hour session.

Students working on ceramics at a Turning Earth studio table

Know someone who’d love this?

Our gift vouchers cover any of our courses, from a single taster session to a full twelve-week programme. The recipient picks their own class and dates, with twelve months to use it.

Ceramics is one of those things people have always meant to try. A voucher gives them an actual occasion to start. Because there's no fixed date on the gift itself, they can find a week that genuinely works rather than scrambling round a pre-booked slot.

Vouchers are sent by email immediately after purchase. If you'd rather gift a specific course on a specific date, you can do that directly through the course pages instead.

Buy a gift voucher

What comes next

The taster covers the basics of the wheel. If you want to go further, our beginner courses run at 6, 8, and 12 weeks.

The 6-week course is the shortest, covering hand-building and an introduction to the wheel. The 8-week and 12-week courses go into both in more depth, with the longer formats giving more time for practice and personal projects. If only the wheel interested you, our 8-week and 12-week wheel throwing courses cover throwing without hand-building.

Book your place