Courses

Hands are among the most communicative parts of the body. Before we speak, they already convey tension, softness, resistance, invitation, grief, and care. This workshop approaches the hand not as decoration, but as language.

Artist and instructor Shiva Nasiri guides students through a focused study of proportion, skeletal logic, volume distribution, and the structural relationships between palm, fingers, and wrist. Through close observation and demonstration, students translate anatomical understanding into accurate three-dimensional form while maintaining expressive intent.

In this 3 week, skills training course, potters will learn how to manipulate larger amounts of clay, which will certainly extend a potter’s range of forms, but it also raises questions of intent that inform and enrich an entire practice.

Through demonstration and supported practice, participants explore the how, the what, and the why of throwing taller. The course focuses on a single form, the cylinder, to demonstrate throwing strategies for manipulating larger amounts of clay, wet-on-wet extensions, and combining leather hard pieces.

Explore the art of fermentation through clay in this seven-week intermediate wheel course focused on creating functional pickling crocks and fermentation jars. Designed for potters who are comfortable on the wheel, this class will challenge you to create larger forms, throw fitted components, and refine the details that make handmade pottery both beautiful and practical.

You’ll also enjoy a special guest demonstration who will share the basics of pickling and fermenting vegetables using traditional ceramic crocks, giving you the knowledge to put your finished piece to use at home.

Take your wheel throwing beyond traditional forms by exploring the art of altering. In this intermediate course, you’ll combine multiple thrown components to create expressive, sculptural vessels that blur the line between functional pottery and ceramic art.

Using bowls, cylinders, and other wheel-thrown forms as your starting point, you’ll learn how to assemble, stretch, carve, and reshape your pieces into elegant centrepieces, pedestal bowls, and statement vessels. Through thoughtful design and experimentation, you’ll discover how altering can transform simple thrown forms into dynamic, one-of-a-kind creations.