Learn with Clay ~ Skills & Techniques
Welcome to the Rediscover Ceramics learning hub — a collection of pottery tips, clay guides, workshop resources, and downloadable reference sheets designed to support your creative journey. Whether you’re completely new to clay or building on existing skills, these resources will help you feel more confident working with handbuilding, wheel throwing, carving, glazing, and surface decoration techniques.
New resources will continue to be added over time following workshops and studio classes.
Current Resources
Wheel Throwing Basics
Foundational techniques for centering, pulling walls, shaping forms, and improving consistency on the wheel.Wheel Throwing Large Forms
Tips for throwing taller and wider vessels, managing weight, and joining sections successfully.Sgraffito Carving
Learn timing, carving methods, underglaze application, and techniques for achieving clean detailed surface decoration.Joining with Magic Glue – No Scoring Required
A guide to using paper clay slip “magic glue” for strong joins with less mess and handling.
Coming Soon
Clay Stages Explained
Understand the difference between wet, leather hard, bone dry, bisque, and glaze-fired clay.Essential Pottery Tools
A simple guide to the most useful beginner pottery tools and what they’re used forBotanical Impressions in Clay
Tips for capturing detailed textures using leaves, bark, seed pods, and native botanicals.Slab Building Basics
Techniques for rolling, compressing, shaping, and constructing strong slab-built forms.Handles & Attachments
Learn how to create and attach handles, spouts, feet, and decorative elements successfully.Drying Clay Without Cracks
Practical ways to slow dry work evenly and reduce warping and cracking.Underglaze & Surface Decoration
Layering colour, brush techniques, carving combinations, and decorative finishes.Trimming Wheel Thrown Pieces
Improve foot rings, balance, proportions, and finishing techniques.Glazing Basics
Understanding glaze application, food safety, and common glazing methods.Making Large Slab Built Vessels
Building larger statement forms using templates, supports, and joining methods.Texture & Mark Making in Clay
Exploring carving, stamping, layering, and creating tactile ceramic surfaces.Firing & Kiln Basics
An introduction to bisque firing, glaze firing, temperatures, and kiln preparation.Common Pottery Mistakes & Troubleshooting
Solutions for cracking, S-cracks, warping, joins failing, and glaze faults.Porcelain Tips & Techniques
Working with porcelain clay bodies, drying considerations, and handling finer forms.






