An intermediate course extending knowledge and honing skills in hand building, wheel work and decoration/glazing to produce more refined finished products. Students will have the opportunity to choose a hand building technique they have previously learnt to make a more complex work, as well as spend more time on the wheel. Examples of work include teapots/coffee pour overs, cups/keep cups, nesting bowls, lidded vessels, boxes and other more geometric forms and sculptural vessels.
Course Description
Take your pottery skills to the next level with this hands-on course.
Designed for students who have completed Pottery for Beginners (or have equivalent experience), this course provides the opportunity to refine hand-building techniques, explore more complex forms, and improve your finishing and glazing skills.
With guidance from your tutor, you’ll design and create two to four unique ceramic pieces of your own choosing, with an emphasis on thoughtful design, craftsmanship, and creative expression.
Whether you're keen to stick with hand-building or want more time on the wheel, this course offers the flexibility to grow your skills in your preferred area.
The course fee includes all clay and glazes, and use of equipment and tools.
Course Structure
In the first week, you'll revisit essential techniques and begin planning and sketching your ceramic pieces.
Weeks two and three are all about building – adding complexity to your forms while thinking ahead to surface decoration.
In week four, you’ll finalise and prepare your work for bisque firing.
Then in the final session, you'll learn glazing techniques and finish your pieces, ready for their final firing.
Each week builds on the last, allowing time to explore your ideas, ask questions, and work at your own pace, with support and feedback along the way.
Course Learning Outcomes
By completing this course students will:
Course Prerequisites
Students should have completed the WEA Pottery for Beginners course, or have equivalent experience.
Rachel Petchkovsky has been teaching at WEA since 2022.
Rachel completed a Diploma of Ceramics in New South Wales in 2000. She is a practicing artist, pottery teacher and early childhood educator.
In her practice she works with clay, textiles, natural dyeing, leather, glass and natural fibres and materials. She has a special interest in raku firing techniques and post firing reduction.
Bridget Saville has been teaching at WEA since July 2022.
Bridget is a ceramicist and designer creating functional and sculptural objects through wheel throwing and hand building techniques. A graduate of Interior Design from RMIT University, Bridget’s work explores the relationship between architectural forms and the human body.
Working with clay since 2015, Bridget has been an Associate at the JamFactory in Adelaide since 2023, where she has the opportunity to explore her practice and develop her skills.
![]() |