Wheel Throwing for Beginners

About the class

Discover the joy of making pottery on the wheel in this welcoming class designed for complete beginners. Over the course of the program, Mel Ellero will guide you through the essential techniques of wheel throwing, including centring clay, forming simple shapes, and trimming your finished pieces. Through demonstrations and plenty of hands-on practice, you’ll build confidence while learning the foundations of working on the wheel. This class is a relaxed and supportive introduction to ceramics, perfect for anyone curious about creating their own handmade pottery.

What to bring:

• Notebook & pen
• Apron
• An old towel

One bag of clay is included in the cost of this course. If you need additional clay, you’re welcome to purchase more—your tutor can recommend where to buy it locally.

Students must wear appropriate clothing, closed-toe shoes and tie up long hair.

Firing & Glazing

Please note that it’s not always possible to fire and glaze all pieces before the end of your course. Several factors can affect when and whether your work is fired, including drying time, thickness, size, the volume of work submitted, and when pieces are completed—especially toward the end of term when kiln space is limited. We do our best to fire as much work as we can each week, but we encourage students to plan ahead if they wish to glaze in their final class.

Once your work has been fired, it will be placed on the collection shelves and you’ll receive an email with collection times. Please make sure to identify and collect your own work.

If you’d like more time to finish your pieces, we offer stand-alone glazing classes each term—these are a great option for returning to complete your work.

Building Accessibility

Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre is a heritage-listed building with access limitations. While there are no lift facilities within the main building, the ceramics studio is wheelchair accessible.

We acknowledge these limitations and are committed to improving accessibility where possible. We continue to explore ways to make our programs more inclusive and encourage you to reach out if you have any questions.