Pottery Throwing and Raku Firing Course
Sky above me, earth below me, fire within me.
Have you always wanted to try to throw your very own piece of pottery on a traditional potter’s wheel? And next to that, experience the wonderful technique of Raku firing?
This five week pottery course is an ideal opportunity to try out both – within a small group of people, colleagues, friends or family.
During the first part of the course, you playfully learn several goes of the fascinating technique of making pots from clay with the help of the potter’s wheel.
During the second part, you get to know different glazing techniques, and finally you fire your self-made pots with the traditional Japanese Raku firing process, during a festive event as a wonderful closing celebration of the course.
Through the combination of pot throwing, glazing and Raku firing, sufficient variety and relaxation is provided during the course. Starting with the basic material clay, you end up with a range of beautiful, unique pieces of ceramic art, made all by yourself from the very beginning until the end.
What does the course include?
- Throwing bowls and upright pots
- Glazing your hand-thrown pots with professional Raku glaze-colours
- The Raku firing as a festive conclusion of the course
- Ten to twelve fired and glazed masterpieces of your own
How is it organized?
Pot throwing is a lot of fun, mainly because the focus switches from thinking to feeling. Through “listening“ with hands, arms and body in order to find the centre from which a pot arises, one automatically settles down in the here and now, connecting with oneself and with the element earth. All of this brings a lot of joy and strength, and in the longer run also leads to valuable life skills like perseverance, patience and determination.
Learning the technique of throwing pots with the potter’s wheel is at the beginning often anything but easy. Nevertheless, in the end you will have made all sorts of pots which you then can glaze in the colour of your choice.
The course is given by ANNUSCH and by ceramic artist Marja Thijssen.
Three sessions of the course will take place in ANNUSCH’s beautiful studio on top of the roof of the building De Hulk in the centre of Almere Haven. The first three sessions concentrate on pot-throwing, and during the fourth session you get the possibility to glaze the pots which you have made under the professional guidance of our raku expert Marja.
Each session provides three beautiful hours of learning, experimenting and creating with expert assistance. The absolute highlight is definitely the fifth and last session with its double length of six hours, during which Marja teaches you to fire your own handmade pots with the help of the amazing Japanese Raku firing technique. During this session we will work outdoors in the fresh air on a beautiful public square of Almere Buiten.
The wonderful thing about Raku firing is that even if your first hand-thrown pots didn’t turn out perfect, through this fascinating firing process they will definitely be turned into the most surprising and unique artworks.
As you can see in the pictures, during Raku firing there is a lot of fire and smoke. So watch your clothes and wear sturdy shoes – no rubber boots! We are busy for a whole afternoon and as there is nothing to buy at this venue, we all bring something to eat and drink – which will make this special closing event a real celebration.
No experience is necessary for this course.
There are only eight places per session to ensure you’ll get as much one-to-one tuition as possible.
By the way, pot throwing is a mucky business, so make sure that you wear flat shoes and that you don’t come in your best clothes!
What is the price of the course?
An individual booking of this unique Pottery Throwing and Raku Firing Coursecosts €360 including ten to twelve of your hand-thrown masterpieces.
The price as a group will be agreed individually according to the number of participants or any personal adjustments and wishes.
The course fees include tuition, all materials and the use of tools and equipment, the choice between ten different professional Raku glaze-colours and the firing of approximately twelve handmade pots per participant.
Advanced students
For advanced students, there is also the possibility to participate only in the fourth and fifth session of the course – glazing and raku firing.
You then take ten to twelve of your own biscuit-fired pieces and can glaze them on Saturday morning during the fourth session of the course and then take part in the full day raku firing and the festive conclusion of the course.
This option of a two-day glazing and raku firing course costs €180.
How do I book?
You can book this course individually or together with a group of colleagues, friends or family. If you want to take part individually, you’ll receive available dates for the classes as soon as the course is full. If you book as a group, you will be contacted soon to arrange a schedule for this unique Pottery Throwing and Raku Firing experience.