Upcoming events.
Bakeware Class
Hand-Building Bakeware
A cozy fall class. Join us for a three-week hand-building pottery class focused on creating your own one-of-a-kind bakeware pieces. You will join Emily in learning hand-building techniques for making functional pieces: a small baking dish and a muffin pan, with plenty of room to add your own creative touches.
Thursdays 6-8pm
Oct 15-29th
4 hours of additional studio time to practice a piece on your own
Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting messy
Pick up pieces about 3 weeks after last class
Please note: Handmade ceramic bakeware requires gradual temperature changes. To help prevent cracking or breakage, pieces should always be brought to temperature gradually and should never be placed directly into a hot oven or exposed to sudden temperature changes. While we take care in making and firing each piece, cracking can occur if the bakeware is not heated gradually.
Underglaze Workshop
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
Mugs on the Wheel
Join Jess as she guides you step by step in throwing amazing mugs. From the basic cylinder to shapes with more volume, you will end this class knowing how to make a mug from start to finish. After you throw your mugs you will learn the best trimming methods for a foot and also learn how to create different types of handles and how to attach them. The last class we will glaze our bisque ware pieces and discuss different glazing options.
October 21-November 11th
Wednesdays 6-8pm
Some basic wheel experience required (you don’t have to be intermediate but you do need to know how to center clay)
Comes with extra studio time for practice
Pick up your pieces 3 weeks after your last clas
Text or call 360-576-1435 if you have any questions about this class
Take it for a Spin
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!
Saturday October 24
10am-12pm
Wear clothing you don’t mind getting messy
Please tie up long hair
Please drop by or call us in two weeks to see if your pieces are ready!
Clay for Two
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.
Friday October 3Oth 6-8pm
This price includes two people
No experience needed
Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting messy
Includes firing
Pick up your piece in about two to three weeks
Watercolor Owls
Join us for a relaxing creative session where we’ll start by practicing brush strokes together and learn about the different consistencies of watercolor.
Then we will loosen up with fun, non-dominant-hand owl drawings — a great way to let go of perfection and embrace the flow! This drawing will give us a few minutes to practice shadows and light with our watercolors before we make our owl painting.
On your final painting you will have an opportunity to trace the under-drawing of the owl if you prefer not to draw.
I’m looking forward to painting owls with you!
No experience necessary
Saturday, October 31st
1-3pm
Includes all supplies
6 week Beginner Wheel begins
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 six sessions, you’ll learn how to center clay, pull walls, and shape simple forms such as bowls and cups with lots of time to practice. 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 have covered the basic ceramic process from soft clay to finished and useful pottery! You will have many finished pieces to take home or for gifts. All materials, tools, and firings are provided. No prior experience required.
Details:
6 weeks/1 session per week/ 2 hours each
Beginner/Refresher
Tuesdays 6-8pm
Nov 3-Dec. 8
Studio practice time-come in between classes and practice what you learned.
Clark County Open Studios
Click below to find out more and see a map of the tour. We are stop Number 19
Watercolor Leaves and Branches
Celebrate the peak of autumn by making gorgeous colored watercolor leaves. Join us for a relaxing, creative session where we’ll start by practicing brush strokes together and learn about the different consistencies of watercolor.
Then we will loosen up with fun, non-dominant-hand leaf drawings — a great way to let go of perfection and embrace the flow! This drawing will give us a few minutes to practice the wet on wet technique with watercolors before we make our paintings.
On your final painting you will have an opportunity to trace leaves if you prefer not to draw. I will also be demonstrating a branch and different ways to make marks with your brush to create depth and get a natural look of a branch.
I’m looking forward to painting leaves and branches with you!
No experience necessary
Thursday, November 12th
1-3pm
Includes all supplies
Clay for Two
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 November 14
6-8pm
This price includes two people
No experience needed
Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting messy
Includes firing
Pick up your piece in about two to three weeks
Charcuterie Set
In this hands-on ceramic workshop, we’ll create beautiful serving boards designed for gathering, slowing down, and sharing time together. Using slabs of stoneware clay, you’ll shape your own one-of-a-kind board with intention and creativity.
We’ll explore decorative techniques like layered textures, botanical impressions, and fresh herb imprints to give your pieces an organic feel. 🌿 Choose a naturally flowing freeform shape or use one of our molds to create a more refined platter style.
To complete your set, you’ll also learn the pinch-pot technique to create small companion bowls perfect for oils, salts, dips, or little everyday treasures. We may even sneak in making small spoons with our extra clay. 🌿
Once your pieces are finished, Clay Works will glaze them in a food-safe finish of your choice, making them ready for your table.
Thursday November 19th
1-3pm
Beginner friendly
Wear clothing you do not mind getting messy
Pick up for your set will be about 2-3 weeks after the workshop
Clay for Two
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 November 28th 6-8pm
This price includes two people
No experience needed
Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting messy
Includes firing
Pick up your piece in about two to three weeks
Sashiko Workshop
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.
Drawing Book Club begins
A Drawing Practice Group
Come enjoy dedicated time in the studio to practice drawing alongside a supportive group.
Our exercises and discussions will be based on Beginning Drawing Atelier by Juliette Aristides. Participants must obtain their own copy of the book before attending. The book includes space for you to draw, so all you need to bring is a pencil and, optionally, an eraser.
The book contains six chapters, and during our time together we will have a short discussion about each chapter before working through the recommended exercises. Each session is an opportunity to slow down, practice, and build your drawing skills in a focused studio environment.
This is not a guided drawing class. Instead, it is a structured drawing practice group designed to help you work your way through the book, develop a consistent practice, and make improvements in your drawing while working alongside others.
No need to have any art experience. Come as you are. Bring your book and a pencil and we will see you soon! Please read Opening (the preface) and Chapter I: Line for our first session together. We can do the actual exercises during our time together.
Link to purchase book: Beginning Drawing Atelier Book
Upstairs in the Clay Works Art Room
Wednesdays
6 weeks-Sept. 23rd-October 28th
6pm-7:30pm
Beginner friendly (ages 18+)
Free for Clay Works members-please register with code
Write: Hello@clayworksvancouver.com with any questions
6 Weeks Wheel Throwing
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
