Always wanted to try the potter’s wheel? Here’s your chance! In this fun, hands-on workshop, you’ll experience the magic of shaping clay on the wheel—no need for any previous experience. We’ll provide everything you need: the clay, the wheel, and the guidance to help you create your very first pottery piece.

After class, Clay Works will trim, glaze, and fire your creation so it’s ready for pickup in about two weeks. Come get your hands muddy, spin something uniquely yours, and see why so many people fall in love with the wheel!

• Friday September 4th

• 6-8pm

• Wear clothing you don’t mind getting messy

• Please tie up long hair

• When you are signing up a friend to come add their name at the end of the waiver during checkout

• Please drop by or call us in two weeks to see if your pieces are ready!

Hand-building Techniques Series

Each week, students will learn about a different hand-building technique. We will cover pinch pots, slab construction, and slump/hump molds. On the final week, we will glaze our works.

Students will leave this class with the experience and confidence to continue working in the hand-building studio. For those who are repeating this class there will be different project options. Many pieces would be great gifts for your loved ones!

• Tuesdays Sept 8th-29th

• 6-8pm

• Beginner-Intermediate

• Wear clothing you don’t mind getting messy

• Studio time to finish your pieces

• Pick up final pieces 2-3 weeks after last class

Looking for a unique night out? Come spin the wheel with your date—or bring a friend for a creative evening of pottery, laughter, and a little relaxation. No experience necessary.

Each person will choose one piece to keep, choose a glaze color, and we will finish the rest. You will be contacted for pick up in about 2 weeks.

• Saturday,} September 12 6-8pm

• This price includes two people

• No experience needed

• Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting messy

• Includes firing

• Please add your partner/friends’ name at the end of the waiver during checkout

• Pick up your piece in about two to three weeks

Coiling Class

with Kim Murton

In this 4 week session we will explore the coil technique using a groggy mid range red clay. Participants will make two medium sized coil pots starting with a sketch for reference.

In the last class we will decorate the pots using stencil shapes and black and white clay slip.

Enjoy the process of making vases and learn how to shape the coils , use darts, paddle and rasp to make your form.

• All levels welcome

• Thursdays

• Sept 17th-October 8th

• 6-8pm

• Tools provided- but bring your own if you wish!

• All materials, glaze, and firing provided

• Wear clothes your don’t mind getting messy or bring an apron

• Includes extra studio time

• Optional : bring a sketchbook

Spend your fall at Clay Works! In this class participants will learn the foundational skills of wheel throwing-centering clay, pulling walls, and shaping basic forms of bowls and cylinders. This course is for both beginners and intermediate throwers. Frank will help those who have previous wheel experience advance their skills.

Each session will guide you in building confidence, refining technique, and discovering the joy of creating new forms. This course will also cover instruction on trimming and glazing your pieces. Includes firing of pieces made in class!!

25 lbs is provided for each student. All tools and equipment are available to use at the studio. No previous clay experience necessary!

Details:

• 6 weeks/1 session per week/2 hours each

• Beginner- Intermediate

• Tuesdays 6-8pm

• Sept 22-Oct 27

• 25 lbs of clay is provided for each student

• Studio time to work on your pieces

This class introduces the essentials of working on the pottery wheel. Over four sessions, you’ll learn how to center clay, pull walls, and shape simple forms such as bowls and mugs. Instruction also covers trimming, surface finishing, and glazing techniques.

By the end of the course, you’ll complete several finished pieces. All materials, tools, and firings are provided. No prior experience required.

Details:

• 2 week/1 session per week/ 2 hours each

• Beginner or refresher

• Wednesday 6-8pm

• Sept. 23- Oct 13

• Studio practice time

Maybe you’ve never touched the wheel before and would like to try or it was a very long time ago. This class provides the essentials of working on the pottery wheel for beginners. Over four sessions, you’ll learn how to center clay, pull walls, and shape simple forms such as bowls and cups. Instruction also covers trimming, surface finishing, and glazing techniques.

Paul will help you each step of the way. By the end of the course, you’ll complete several finished pieces. All materials, tools, and firings are provided. No prior experience required.

Details:

• 4 weeks/1 session per week/ 2 hours each

• Beginners

• Thursdays 6-8pm

• October 8th-29th

• Studio practice time

• Summer is a busy season. If you miss a class you will receive 2 hours extra of studio time.

Sustainability and Sashiko

“Sashiko Workshop”: Invisible Repair, Don’t Replace

Sashiko, with its “repair what matters” ethos, offered a different way of understanding value longbefore the modern sustainability movement. This traditional Japanese stitching practice transforms mending into both craft and philosophy, celebrating resourcefulness, durability, and deep respect for materials.

In this workshop with Portland‑based visual artist mai ide, participants will learn how to create two classic Sashiko patterns and explore how to do the art of invisible repair on your garment.

Along the way, we’ll look at what this centuries‑old tradition reveals about Japanese life,consumption, resilience, and the power of repair in a throwaway world.

This workshop explores the cultural significance of Sashiko stitching. Participants will learn foundational techniques while creating two Sashiko designs and we can work on your own garment to repair!

Take-Home kit is included with the cost of your class ($23 value)

You will receive:

• Japanese rough plain fabric including Kimono fabric

• Cotton Sashiko skein thread

• Sashiko template

• Sashiko needle set

*Please bring your own garments to mend.

• 4 hour workshop 10am- 2pm

• Saturday, October 10th

• The workshop is open to everyone. Beginners will learn the foundations, and those with sewing or Sashiko experience can deepen their practice. Even participants with many years of Sashiko experience often discover new insights when we explore the history, philosophy, and cultural meaning behind the stitches. 

About the Artist

mai ide is a Japanese-American artist from Tokyo, now based in Portland, OR. Her multidisciplinary approach investigates her own cultural intersectionality and deep ambivalence of race and gender as a non-immigrant, mother, and woman. As a non-native speaker of English, ide’s practice is expressing discomfort of being classified or perceived by society as an “other” or “forever foreigner” in the U.S. ide's use of salvaged fabric and Sashiko stitches conveys their simultaneous vulnerability, fragility, and ferocity under a constrained, violent, and volatile society. ide holds a BFA in Art Practice from Portland State University (OR) and an MFA in Visual Studies at Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, as well as degrees in sewing, pattern making, and textile design in Japan, where she worked for twelve years as a material designer. Their previous exhibitions and performances include the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, Museum of Kyoto in Japan, and Jordan Schnitzer Museum in Oregon.

In this one session workshop, participants will learn about all of the possibilities of using underglazes in both greenware and bisque. Underglazes are great for applying color, patterns, illustrations, and painterly techniques to your ceramic works. All materials will be provided. Beginner friendly!

• You will receive and work on one bisque-ware piece and one greenware (leather hard) plate to practice techniques

• Tuesday, Oct 20th 6-8:30

• 6-8:30pm

• Pick up your finished pieces 2-3 weeks after the workshop

Swap & Stack: Building Tall Forms on the Wheel

Take your wheel-throwing skills to new heights in this intermediate pottery class focused on creating stacked vase forms. Students will throw a series of vessels in varying sizes and proportions, then explore how to stack, alter, and join them to create unique taller pieces.

Along the way, you’ll practice throwing a variety of forms while considering balance, composition, design, and function. This class is perfect for potters looking to expand their wheel skills and explore creative approaches to building with clay. Basic wheel-throwing experience is required.

• Good for beginners who have taken a 4 week class with us (or equivalent) and for intermediate throwers looking for a new challenge

• Includes learning both throwing skills and handbuilding skills

• Wednesdays 6-8pm

• 5 weeks-October 21-November 18

• Additional studio time to finish work included