Clay & Connection

What to expect

A relaxed, supportive pottery course designed to help people slow down, reconnect with their creativity and enjoy making with their hands. The focus wouldn’t be on creating “perfect pottery”, but on the process itself — taking time away from everyday noise, learning something new, building confidence & connecting with others in a welcoming creative environment. No previous pottery experience needed. When: 6pm to 8pm 11th January 18th January 25th January 1st February 8th February 15th February Where: Keko Pottery Studio, Newport Pagnell The Course: Week 1 — Meet the Clay A gentle introduction to clay and hand-building. We’ll explore how clay feels and behaves, learn some basic techniques and create our first piece using the pinch-pot method. The aim is simply to get comfortable with the material, have a play and remove that fear of “doing it wrong”. Week 2 — Build & Breathe We’ll explore coil building and use repetition and rhythm to gradually create a vessel. There’s something incredibly calming about the repetitive process of working with coils, smoothing the clay and slowly watching a form grow. Week 3 — Shape Your Space An introduction to slab building. Participants could create something practical such as a mug, planter, tray or small vessel while learning how to roll, cut, join and construct clay. Week 4 — Make It Yours Individual creativity session. Using the techniques we’ve learnt so far, participants can begin developing something more personal to them. This could be sculptural, decorative or functional; the emphasis is on exploring ideas and building confidence in your creativity. Week 5 — Colour, Texture & Surface We’ll return to our earlier pieces after their first firing and explore colour, underglazes, texture and surface decoration. This is where pieces really begin to take on their individual personality. Week 6 — Finish & Reflect Our final session would focus on glazing and finishing work, alongside a small final clay project. It would also be an opportunity to look back at everything everyone has created over the six weeks and celebrate the progress made. Finished pieces would then remain at KeKo for their final glaze firing and would be ready for collection afterwards. Course Includes: • Six 2-hour guided pottery sessions • Clay • Use of studio tools and equipment • Underglazes and studio glazes • Bisque firing • Glaze firing • Storage of work between sessions • Finished ceramic pieces to take home after the final firing