Handbuilding Pottery Workshop: Chip and Dip Bowl

I’m Anna, the Irish-born, Perth-based ceramicist behind Mná & Mud Pottery Studio in Northbridge and a firm believer that pottery doesn’t need to be perfect, precious or beige. (Mná [mon-aw] Irish for women)Before pottery took over my life, I spent 15 years working in education, so teaching, encouraging people and creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable having a go has always been a big part of who I am.I came to clay later in life and completely fell in love with it. I completed a TAFE qualification in Sculpture and have been a member of Studio P Ceramics for the past three years, developing my ceramic practice, experimenting with different techniques and learning the realities of clay-including the occasional firing disaster!Eventually that passion grew into Mná & Mud Pottery, my own ceramics business and studio in Northbridge. My work is also sold through Perth Artists’ Collective and Diabolik Books & Records, and in 2025 I was part of the Perth Pottery Pop-Up, which brought local ceramic artists together in the Perth CBD.Mná & Mud is built around three things: Clay. Craic. Connection. (“Craic” is Irish for fun, conversation and having a good time-not the other kind!)My ceramics range from beautiful and functional to slightly outrageous. Alongside my more traditional pieces is Dirty Dishes, my cheekier 18+ collection, because I don’t think handmade pottery has to take itself too seriously.That philosophy carries straight into my workshops.I absolutely love watching someone arrive saying, “I’m not creative” or “Mine is going to be terrible, ” then seeing how ridiculously proud they are of what they’ve made a few hours later.My workshops are relaxed, social and genuinely beginner-friendly. I teach hand-building rather than wheel throwing, so you work directly with the clay and learn techniques you can really get stuck into from your very first class. There’s no pressure to keep up and definitely no expectation that everyone should make exactly the same thing.After 15 years in education, I know people learn differently. I’ll demonstrate, help, troubleshoot and encourage you-but I also want you to put your own personality into what you make.For me, a great pottery workshop isn’t about producing a table full of identical bowls. It’s about switching off for a few hours, getting your hands dirty, having a laugh, meeting people and walking away thinking:“I actually made that!”And if it’s slightly wonky? Even better. That’s how you know it’s handmade.