Our Level 1 Foundations pottery wheel throwing course is designed for complete beginners and anyone looking to practice and build their core throwing skills.
Over six weeks, you'll learn the essential techniques needed to throw confidently on the potter's wheel. Through regular practice, expert tuition and plenty of encouragement, you'll build confidence while developing good habits that will support your pottery journey for years to come.
Throughout the course you'll explore:
Preparing clay for throwing
Centring and coning clay
Opening and pulling walls
Throwing cylinders and simple bowls
Controlling thickness and shape
Trimming and finishing pots
Understanding the pottery wheel and throwing process
Developing confidence through repetition and practice
This course is perfect if you:
Have never used a potter's wheel before
Have attended a taster session and want to learn more
Have thrown before but would like to refresh your foundational skills
Want to build strong technical foundations before progressing further
Think of this course as driving lessons - repeat as many times as you need until your ready to progress on to Level 2
✔ Six weekly 2½-hour pottery wheel throwing sessions
✔ Maximum 8 participants
✔ Expert tuition from ceramic artist Rachelle Corker or local small-batch potter Ryo Sakai
✔ Use of all studio tools and equipment
✔ Professional studio glazing of up to 2 finished pots as a momento of your progress
✔ Tea, coffee and biscuits
✔ Free Parking
This course focuses on building strong pottery wheel throwing skills.
At the end of the course, you'll choose up to 2 favourite pots for us to glaze and fire in one of our beautiful stoneware finishes, ready for collection a few weeks later.
With a maximum of 8 students, there's plenty of opportunity for demonstrations, individual guidance and one-to-one support.
Whether your first pot is wonderfully wonky or surprisingly elegant, we'll help you develop confidence at your own pace in a relaxed, friendly studio environment.
Level 1 Foundations is taught by Rachelle Corker, founder of Marsh Farm Pottery, and Ryo Sakai, a small-batch potter based in Bath. Both bring their own distinctive approach to making, a wealth of practical experience and a genuine passion for helping others discover the possibilities of working with clay.
Rachelle is passionate about sharing the joy of pottery and helping complete beginners find their feet at the wheel. With a focus on strong technical foundations and a thoughtful, hands-on approach to teaching, she’ll help you get to grips with the basics, build confidence in your skills and discover the satisfaction of making something by hand. Her relaxed and supportive teaching style creates the space to experiment, learn at your own pace and develop a lasting connection with clay.
Ryo is an experienced small-batch potter with distinctive making practices and a passion for teaching. He’ll guide you through the fundamentals of throwing, helping you get to grips with the wheel, build confidence in your technique and begin creating forms of your own. With Ryo’s support, you’ll develop a strong foundation to explore your creativity and discover the possibilities of working with clay.
Wheel throwing requires a reasonable level of mobility. Our electric pottery wheels are not suitable for anyone with a pacemaker. If you have any accessibility requirements, please contact us before booking so we can discuss the most suitable course for you.
Many students begin with Level 1 Foundations before progressing to our Level 2 Throwing Course, Community Glazing Sessions, Raku Workshops and Studio Membership.
Marsh Farm Pottery offers a clear learning pathway, helping you develop from complete beginner to confident maker through regular practice, expert tuition and a welcoming creative community.
We know that life can sometimes get in the way of the best-laid plans, and we really appreciate you booking a course with us! As a small business, our courses are planned and sold months in advance, so unfortunately we can’t offer transfers, catch-up sessions or refunds if you can’t make sessions. Last-minute changes have a big impact on a small business like ours, so hopefully you can appreciate our policy.
In the rare event that we need to make a change to a session, we’ll arrange catch-up dates with the group.
Once you’ve booked, nearer the time, we’ll send you an email with all the details you need for your course. Please take a moment to read this carefully and remember to forward it on to anyone else sharing your booking.
Our Level 1 Foundations pottery wheel throwing course is designed for complete beginners and anyone looking to practice and build their core throwing skills.
Over six weeks, you'll learn the essential techniques needed to throw confidently on the potter's wheel. Through regular practice, expert tuition and plenty of encouragement, you'll build confidence while developing good habits that will support your pottery journey for years to come.
Throughout the course you'll explore:
Preparing clay for throwing
Centring and coning clay
Opening and pulling walls
Throwing cylinders and simple bowls
Controlling thickness and shape
Trimming and finishing pots
Understanding the pottery wheel and throwing process
Developing confidence through repetition and practice
This course is perfect if you:
Have never used a potter's wheel before
Have attended a taster session and want to learn more
Have thrown before but would like to refresh your foundational skills
Want to build strong technical foundations before progressing further
Think of this course as driving lessons - repeat as many times as you need until your ready to progress on to Level 2
✔ Six weekly 2½-hour pottery wheel throwing sessions
✔ Maximum 8 participants
✔ Expert tuition from ceramic artist Rachelle Corker or local small-batch potter Ryo Sakai
✔ Use of all studio tools and equipment
✔ Professional studio glazing of up to 2 finished pots as a momento of your progress
✔ Tea, coffee and biscuits
✔ Free Parking
This course focuses on building strong pottery wheel throwing skills.
At the end of the course, you'll choose up to 2 favourite pots for us to glaze and fire in one of our beautiful stoneware finishes, ready for collection a few weeks later.
With a maximum of 8 students, there's plenty of opportunity for demonstrations, individual guidance and one-to-one support.
Whether your first pot is wonderfully wonky or surprisingly elegant, we'll help you develop confidence at your own pace in a relaxed, friendly studio environment.
Level 1 Foundations is taught by Rachelle Corker, founder of Marsh Farm Pottery, and Ryo Sakai, a small-batch potter based in Bath. Both bring their own distinctive approach to making, a wealth of practical experience and a genuine passion for helping others discover the possibilities of working with clay.
Rachelle is passionate about sharing the joy of pottery and helping complete beginners find their feet at the wheel. With a focus on strong technical foundations and a thoughtful, hands-on approach to teaching, she’ll help you get to grips with the basics, build confidence in your skills and discover the satisfaction of making something by hand. Her relaxed and supportive teaching style creates the space to experiment, learn at your own pace and develop a lasting connection with clay.
Ryo is an experienced small-batch potter with distinctive making practices and a passion for teaching. He’ll guide you through the fundamentals of throwing, helping you get to grips with the wheel, build confidence in your technique and begin creating forms of your own. With Ryo’s support, you’ll develop a strong foundation to explore your creativity and discover the possibilities of working with clay.
Wheel throwing requires a reasonable level of mobility. Our electric pottery wheels are not suitable for anyone with a pacemaker. If you have any accessibility requirements, please contact us before booking so we can discuss the most suitable course for you.
Many students begin with Level 1 Foundations before progressing to our Level 2 Throwing Course, Community Glazing Sessions, Raku Workshops and Studio Membership.
Marsh Farm Pottery offers a clear learning pathway, helping you develop from complete beginner to confident maker through regular practice, expert tuition and a welcoming creative community.
We know that life can sometimes get in the way of the best-laid plans, and we really appreciate you booking a course with us! As a small business, our courses are planned and sold months in advance, so unfortunately we can’t offer transfers, catch-up sessions or refunds if you can’t make sessions. Last-minute changes have a big impact on a small business like ours, so hopefully you can appreciate our policy.
In the rare event that we need to make a change to a session, we’ll arrange catch-up dates with the group.
Once you’ve booked, nearer the time, we’ll send you an email with all the details you need for your course. Please take a moment to read this carefully and remember to forward it on to anyone else sharing your booking.
