MUD Essentials

This course was designed with beginner potters who have a hard time fitting an in-person class into their schedule in mind… but if you’re interested, then it’s for you! Perhaps you’re someone who prefers to learn independently, or maybe you’ve taken a few in-person classes but would find the structure of an online course a helpful way to keep building your skills.

Ideally, yes - you will maximize your learning if you have access to either a home studio or a community pottery studio where you can practice the skills you’ll learn in the course.

However, the hand building portions of the course could be used just as easily on air dry clay in the comfort of your own home, and pieces made from air dry clay can be decorated with acrylic paints, just like you would use underglaze on regular clay. Many community studios also offer kiln hire, so if you’re primarily a hand builder with the ability to set up a safe space to create in at home but nowhere to fire your pieces, this could be a good option for you!

MUD Essentials is a four part video course covering every technical and practical skill required to begin your ceramics journey. You will learn wheel throwing, hand building, studio etiquette, and clay science. By the end of this course, you will be able to navigate a pottery studio with confidence and will have the skills necessary to begin bringing your ideas to life. Each lesson comes with a detailed downloadable PDF to help you keep track of what you're learning and guide your practice.

You can sign up for MUD Essentials by clicking the “Learn More” button above, and you’ll be taken to the sign up page.

The tools used in the video course are: needle tool, wire tool, wooden knife, sponge, metal rib and silicone rib.

You do not need all of these to utilize the techniques shown in the course, but having a beginner’s tool kit is helpful. However, you can be creative! The sponge you use doesn’t have to be purchased from a ceramics specific supplier, and the rounded end of a spoon is just as helpful for smoothing out joints in your pieces as a wooden knife.

No, the course is yours to keep forever once you’ve purchased it, and you can log back in any time to refresh your skills or review a topic.

The course is divided into 4 video volumes, each approximately an hour long. As you progress through the course, you’ll start with studio safety and basic techniques, and then move on to more complex techniques building on what you’ve already learned. Each video volume comes with a PDF accompaniment for you to refer back to, and suggestions on what skills you should practice as your “homework”.

The topics covered in each volume are as follows…

Volume 1: Studio Safety, Pinch Pot Mugs, Your First Thrown Piece

Volume 2: Bisqueware, Coil Built Mug, The Extruder, Throwing Cylinders, Wedging, Pulling Handles

Volume 3: Glazing, Making Slabs, Slab Roller, Slab Built Mugs, Simple Decorations, Throwing Bowls

Volume 4: Trimming, Vases and Throwing Larger, Carving

Yes! Be sure to have viewed the safety portion of Volume 1 before making work in the studio. If you’re considering membership at another community studio local to you, please consult with that studio first to ask about their requirements for membership.