Welcome to BPG Tuesday Night Pottery Class. I’m really happy to help Boulder artist and teacher Barbara Curtis and – being a “re-acquainted potter” –  I’m excited to share any and all information that I might have regarding this amazing medium to you guys.

I’ve found that in the past classes, I could dedicate a page here and send you the link as the information is updated. This way, all hosting of images can be done here and outside links (videos and instructional support), are “clicked-thru” from here and hosted elsewhere (unless I need to do a video for supporting material, like below).  Feel free to keep the dialog active and e-mail me any questions you may have. I want to give you guys as much information as possible.

Since half of the class is at the beginning stages I’ll concentrate on the basics, unless you ask about something specific. As a review of what we were able to do on our first night, here’s a link to a short (I try to research and keep the stuff as short as possible for everyone because you can get lost in all the available videos out there), re-hash of basic wedging. (<-click link)

Basic centering and throwing a cylinder.(<-click links)

Remember… there are numerous ways to achieve these things. If you practice the basics, you will arrive at your own working steps and comfort level.

For you intermediates or those that want to save their wrists when working larger, years ago, we didn’t have a pug mill so this is the way I learned how to wedge and homogenize larger amounts of clay..(<-click link)

Also, from my notes on our first class these are the goals and projects that you guys are interested in:

• Sgraffito and surface decoration
• Mugs and pour-overs
• Plates/sets
• Getting height on pieces / making larger pieces
• Lids (we have this slotted for Week 4, but I may demo a teapot prior-to)
• If I demo a teapot, I should demo tea bowls off-the-hump

We will do our best to squeeze in as much as possible, and I promise to try and provide samples and bonus content here within this site. Please let me know if you would like to add anything to the above goals list.

Something that came up right away in the first class is how to do sets. Below is a quick video I did for Nancy Kuester’s class a couple years ago. I don’t usually caliper the bottom really, but someone was having a problem with centering to a consistent width, so I suggested using a caliper.

Finished set from my Instagram account:

Please Note – our practice sessions are Mondays 6:30 pm-9:30 pm, Tuesdays 1-4 pm, and Saturdays 10 am to 1 pm. I have yet to hear about next Monday, Martin Luther King day practice session from our class Chair, but I will e-mail you all as soon as I know.

Take advantage of the practice sessions. These are the best studio values in the Boulder area and I’ve found invaluable creative time there as student.

Have fun!