Ceramics Fundamentals - Complete Course for Beginners 2 x 4h

Introduction to Ceramics Course

From a lump of clay to a finished, glazed piece

2 meetings, 4 hours each (next meeting in 7 days at the same time)

This course is for those who want to understand the entire ceramic process and create functional and decorative objects independently, without using a pottery wheel.

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Meeting 1

Forming and decorating clay

Introduction to ceramics

• types of clay and their application
• step-by-step ceramic creation process
• what are drying, bisque firing, and glaze firing
• most common beginner mistakes

Hand-building techniques

Participants will learn three basic working methods:

• slab technique
• coil technique
• pinching technique

Creating your own works

Each participant will create:

• a plate or platter
• a bowl or mug
• a small form of their own design

Decorating clay before firing

You will learn and try:

• impressions of plants and natural textures
• creating textures using stamps
• relief and bas-relief
• decorating with engobes
• basics of sgraffito technique

After the class, the pieces will be dried and bisque fired.

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Meeting 2

Color, glazes, and ceramic finishing

This part often determines the final effect of the work.

Glazing theory

You will learn:

• what glazes are and how they work
• types of glazes
• differences between transparent, opaque, and effect glazes
• how glaze behaves on different textures
• how firing temperature affects color

Underglaze paints and bisque decoration

You will learn:

• methods of painting on bisque
• using underglaze paints
• building layers and color depth
• combining decoration with transparent glaze

Working with glazes

Using Mayco, Amaco, and Spectrum glazes as examples, you will learn:

• how to choose glazes for a project
• how to apply glaze with a brush
• how to achieve even coverage
• how to create layered effects
• which glazes work well together
• how to achieve drip, color transition, and crystallization effects
• how to use the texture of the piece to highlight the design with glaze

Glaze samples

Each participant will prepare their own mini-sample set of:

• different glazes
• glaze combinations
• layered effects

This is an extremely valuable aid for future independent work.

Glazing your own works

At the end, participants will independently glaze the previously made items.

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After the course, the participant:

✓ understands the entire ceramic process from clay to finished work

✓ knows three basic hand-building techniques

✓ can decorate clay before firing

✓ knows how to choose and apply glazes

✓ understands the basic relationships between texture, color, and glaze

✓ has independently created and glazed their own works