Beginning Wheel Throwing with Ayla Mullen

Instructor – Ayla Mullen

Schedule – Tuesdays, 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm, Jan 21 - March 10, 2020, 8 Weeks

Member Tuition - $150, Non-Member Tuition - $187.50

Materials Fee – $20, Payable to the Floyd Center for the Arts at the Beginning of the Class

Ages – 16 and older, exceptions with special permission

Class Description – This course will be a thorough introduction to basic wheel throwing skills. We will introduce basic ceramic materials and techniques including clay, glaze, kilns and firing, and will spend most of our time learning how to work on the potter's wheel. The first 4 sessions will focus on preparing clay for throwing, centering clay on the wheel, throwing basic cylinders and bowls, and techniques for finishing thrown pieces on and off of the wheel. The second 4 sessions will introduce techniques for creating more complex forms with curves and handles, problem solving issues and challenges that arise as students get more familiar with the wheel, as well as how to glaze the pieces that students have made. We will fire at least one glaze kiln by the end of the class, and possibly more depending on the quantity of work made by students. Students will take home at least one finished, fired piece by the end of the 8 weeks. 

Completion of this class meets the prerequisite to be eligible to participate in the center's Pottery Open Studio held throughout the month.

About the Instructor – "I have a BA in Environmental Political Theory and Ceramics, and completed a 2 year apprenticeship with local potter Ellen Shankin in 2017. I have studied Ceramics at the Penland School of Crafts, and currently work as a full time studio potter in Floyd, focusing on wheelthrown functional pottery with botanically inspired surface designs. My work is available online and at craft shows regionally, as well as at Troika Contemporary Craft Gallery in downtown Floyd."