Throw Clay L A

09/15/2026

https://www.throwclayla.com/post/designing-with-pottery

Pottery for the home can be so much more than mugs, bowls and vases. It can start with a simple thought: “I wonder if I could make that out of clay?”

Our newly updated Journal article explores using pottery to design for the home, from dinnerware and lighting to storage, tiles and pieces created for a particular place or purpose.

And if it sparks an idea of your own, our Design in Handbuilding course is designed to help experienced handbuilding students turn those ideas into clay. The next course starts tomorrow night - the booking link is in the Journal post.

Designing with pottery opens up a world of possibilities for the home. Explore handmade lighting, dinnerware, tiles and objects you can imagine and create yourself.

09/11/2026

What happens when you give a studio full of potters permission to make creatures?

Apparently, just about anything.

Swipe through some of the Creatures & Critters that have emerged from the studio. Dogs, birds, bugs, beasts, and a few things we’re not quite sure how to classify.

Creatures & Critters is a favorite six-week handbuilding course taught by . Students explore sculptural techniques while developing creatures with personalities all their own.

The next course starts Thursday, September 17 at 6:00 PM.
A few spots are still open. Register at throwclayla.com.

09/10/2026

Our next six-week session starts Sunday!

There’s still time to join us for a fall session of wheel throwing, handbuilding, and plenty of creative exploration.

Potter’s Wheel Basics
Creatures & Critters
Vases & Bottles
Design in Handbuilding
and more.

Six weeks to learn, make, experiment, and spend some serious time with clay.

Courses begin September 13.
See what’s still open at throwclayla.com.

09/01/2026

Being a member at TCLA means being part of a community where we learn from each other — and sometimes the best thing to learn from is someone else’s pot.

This Wednesday’s FREE Member Clinic is an expanded POT TALK: Glaze Edition.

Wednesday, September 2 6:00–7:30pm
FREE for TCLA members

We’ll talk about the choices behind the finished surface: what glaze was used, how it was applied, what worked, what surprised us, and what we might do differently next time.

Want to join the conversation? Bring a pot you’d like to discuss and share what went into it. Or just come, listen, ask questions, and see what other members have been experimenting with.

Glazing can involve a fair amount of trial and error. This is a chance to compare notes and learn from each other’s successes — and the occasional “well, THAT wasn’t what I expected.”

Not a member yet? Our free Member Clinics are one of the benefits of TCLA membership, along with open studio access, glazes, equipment, and a community of potters working and learning alongside one another.

08/26/2026

OCTOBER WORKSHOP

What is a Shisa?

Part lion, part dog and traditionally placed in pairs, Shisa are guardian figures from Okinawa believed to protect homes from evil spirits and welcome good ones.

This October, join ceramicist, painter and educator Dane Nakama for a two-day workshop exploring the tradition of Shisa and creating your own guardian figure in clay.

Dane will guide you through building, detailing and giving your Shisa its own personality. Instruction, clay, tools and firing are included, and you’re welcome to bring your own favorite tools if you’d like.

Saturday & Sunday, October 17 & 18
2:00–5:00 PM both days
$125 | Early Bird: $115 through September 7

All levels are welcome. A little clay experience is helpful, but you do not need to be an experienced handbuilder.

Learn more and register at http://throwclayla.com - workshop link in bio.

08/23/2026

Being a member at TCLA is being part of a community where we learn from each other.

This Wednesday’s FREE Member Clinic gets a little more hands-on: we’re making clay stamps.

Join us Wednesday, August 26 at 6 PM as Andy demonstrates how to make your own stamps for adding marks, patterns and texture to handbuilt, wheel-thrown and sculpted work. We’ll have extra clay blanks available, so you can make one during the clinic.

We’ll cover different stamp shapes, making lugs and blanks with flat surfaces, carving tools, simple design transfer, when to reverse-carve, and drying before firing.

No sign-up. Just come on in.

Not a member yet? Our free Member Clinics are one of the benefits of TCLA membership: a chance to gather, learn a new technique, ask questions and pick up ideas from other potters in the studio.

08/22/2026

Our first reduction firing is out of the kiln. And we’re enthralled with the results!

We’ve fired our 40-cubic-foot Geil gas kiln many times, but this was our first time firing it in reduction, adding a whole new variable to what happens inside the kiln.

By deliberately controlling the amount of oxygen available during the firing, we can change the chemistry of the clay and glazes. Copper can shift from greens and blue-greens to brilliant reds. Iron can produce changes in both color and surface. Familiar glazes can emerge with colors and surfaces that look dramatically different from the same glazes fired with plenty of oxygen available.

But reduction isn’t simply a matter of turning down the oxygen and waiting to see what happens. Gas, airflow, temperature, heatwork, timing, pot placement and even the way the kiln is loaded all play a part.

There’s a lot we can control. And there’s still room for surprise.
Our newest Journal post takes a closer look at what reduction firing actually is, how we control the atmosphere inside the kiln, and why two pots wearing the same glaze can still come out looking different.

Read “Reduction Firing: How Oxygen Changes the Colors in Your Pottery” at the link in our bio.

08/20/2026

Creatures & Critters is BACK!!!

Just in time to make something wonderfully weird for Halloween. Or fun and fanciful for Christmas. Or both.

Starting Thursday, September 17 at 6:00PM, Bailey is back for six weeks of sculpting creatures, characters, critters and whatever else your imagination comes up with.

You’ll learn how to plan and build small-scale ceramic sculptures, work with proportion and expression, add surface detail and personality, and glaze your finished creatures.

As one of our intermediate Refine & Explore courses, some prior handbuilding experience in coil, slab, pinch or sculpting will help you get the most out of the class.

Thursdays at 6:00PM
Six weeks beginning September 17
Bailey

Book on our site through the link in bio.

08/17/2026

Being a member at Throw Clay LA is being part of a community where we learn from each other.

Our free weekly Member Clinics are a chance to gather, talk pottery, ask questions, pick up a new technique, and get inspired by what other members are making. Whether you’re a wheel thrower, handbuilder, or sculptor, there’s always something new to learn.

This Wednesday, August 19 at 6pm, Andy is demonstrating how to throw wall pockets. We’ll start with a wheel-thrown closed form and turn it into a pot that can hang on the wall — for plants, tools, brushes, pencils, and more.

During the clinic, Andy will demonstrate:

• Making a closed form without a floor
• Throwing decorative k***s as part of the form
• Building a rim from a closed form
• Altering the form with a paddle
• Adding holes for hanging
• Managing moisture levels when altering softer clay

Member Clinics are FREE, last about 45–60 minutes, and there’s no sign-up needed.

Not a member yet? Learn more about joining our creative community in DTLA South Park through the link in our bio.

08/08/2026

Small adjustments can make a surprising difference at the wheel.

Join ceramicist, licensed massage therapist, and personal trainer HanaKyle Moranz for Exploring Body Mechanics at the Wheel, a hands-on workshop designed for potters who are comfortable throwing independently.

Through demonstrations, guided practice, and individual feedback, you'll explore practical techniques that can help make throwing feel more efficient, comfortable, and sustainable.

Monday, August 17
5:30–8:30 PM
$95

Learn more and register through the link in our bio.