Advanced Wheel Throwing Course

In this fun and practical extended pottery course, suitable for every level of experience, you will learn the techniques of throwing clay on the wheel as well as basic sculpting skills.

This will include throwing functional and decorative forms from plates to vases and everything between. Learn how to make lids, handles and multiples of a single shape, also a broad range of decorating and glazing techniques.

The course is suitable for both beginners and experienced potters and is carefully structured so beginners will have a planned program while those with more experience will have the opportunity to extend their skills. We can also tailor our course to suit your needs. Take with you all your creations, develop and extend your pottery skills and keep mastering your art. There are no extra costs during class time. Clay, glaze and firing are all included in the cost.

As a special bonus, you can come to the pottery at any time and practice. However, you will be required to pay for clay, glazing and firing at the same discounted rates as members of the Friends of Windmill Pottery (FWP) pay. FWP is a group of potters within the pottery who have no studio of their own, but use the pottery's facilities for their own purposes. Windmill Pottery becomes the studio you have when you don't have a studio. Advanced Course students will be invited to join the FWP at the end of their course.

-No experience required! Beginners are as eligible to enroll as experienced potters.
-While beginning potters learn to master the techniques for producing ceramics, more experienced potters will be encouraged to develop their own creative perspectives and personal styles.
  - Two hour class + one hour practice wheel time after class per week.
- All materials and firing for pieces produced within the three hours above.
- Windmill pottery glazes are available for use at no cost to students.

Outside class hours during the semester (10 weeks), students are welcome to come and practice at the pottery at no extra charge, but will be required to buy their own clay and pay for bisque and glaze firing of the extra ware at half our retail rates.
  Wear comfortable clothes and shoes you don't mind getting messy.
Note: Our enrollments for this semester close on the 29th January l2020
 

This class series runs for 10 consecutive weeks, at the same time each week

Windmill Pottery - Windmill Pottery 756 Mt Cotton Road Sheldon, QLD

I have been working with clay for over forty-five years. Early inspiration came while teaching primary school children at Slade Point near Mackay. It was then I discovered clay as an art media that brought so much enjoyment to his students and of course myself. With a transfer to Toowoomba, a friend, Harry Hart, who was the Art Teacher at Mt Lofty High School and I formed Hartland Potteries where we taught, produced and sold pottery through regular exhibitions. Since moving to Sheldon in the Redlands, I discovered suitable volcanic clay on my property and this has driven my work in an entirely new direction. This clay is typically stoneware with high iron oxide content. At lower earthenware temperatures the clay fires to rich golden terracotta, while at higher stoneware temperatures, it takes on a steely quality that almost shrieks durability and hardness. “At the end of the day, I gain great joy in sharing with others the pleasure I get from simply working with clay.”

Over recent times, I have been assisting traditional Khmer Potters in Cambodia and offering foreign potters (potential and experienced) the unique experience of working with Khmer potters using traditional methods. I have discussed this enterprise with Khmer potters in Andon Gruessey Village in Kampong Chhnang and they have enthusiastically endorsed this project that could help expose their skills to the world. It will provide a much needed income to the village beyond the subsistence life most experience.

As a potter who has visited this place many times, I’ve gained so much from my association with these people, not only in exploring my own knowledge within that context, but also my development as a person. I’ve designed a tour to share that experience, particularly for potter/ceramicists who’d love to develop their current skills and experience new techniques within a unique environment among traditional potters and their extended family and community. There’s only one such place in Cambodia and it lies in one province, Kampong Chhnang, which literally translates as Port of Pottery. It’s called a port because of its location on the Tonle Sap River, gateway to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat and the mighty Mekong River.

We, at Windmill Pottery, offer a unique 10-day experience, including a 7-day pottery residency in Cambodia where foreign will have the opportunity of a cultural experience facilitated by a traditional approach to clay making as the Khmer potters have done for many generations.