HAND BUILDING WITH CLAY
Hand Building with Clay: Beyond the Wheel
5:30PM - 8:30PM
Tuesdays, April 21 - May 12
Members: $210.00 | Non-Members: $235.00
This four-week hand building ceramics class is designed as a perfect companion to wheel throwing and an excellent alternative for those looking to explore a completely different side of working with clay.
While wheel throwing is more streamlined and technical, hand building is slower, more organic, and highly expressive. In this class, students will work entirely without the wheel, learning a whole new set of skills that emphasize form, texture, surface design, and sculptural freedom.
Participants will create functional items such as mugs and plates, while also exploring molds and hand-sculpted forms that cannot be made on the wheel. Hand building allows for more detailed surfaces, decorative elements, and experimental shapes, making it ideal for artists who enjoy a more tactile, flexible, and creative process.
This class is especially well suited for beginners, as hand building offers an approachable entry point into ceramics. It is also a great next step for wheel throwers who want to expand their skill set and gain a deeper understanding of clay as a material.
Class Dates: Tuesdays, April 21 & 28, and May 5 & 12
All necessary materials are provided for this hands-on experience.
About the Instructor
Jillian McEvoy is a ceramic artist and educator whose work draws inspiration from the hidden worlds of nature, from insects to fossils to microorganisms and beyond. Her sculptures and installations blend traditional hand-building and wheel-throwing processes with experimental materials and approaches, encouraging curiosity and discovery. Jillian earned her MFA in Ceramics from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and her BFA from SUNY Cortland. As a teacher, Jillian is passionate about sharing the joy of clay through exploration, play, and an openness to experimentation.