Surrey Pottery Throwing Courses
Based in Witley, Godalming in Surrey, Lucy Hogan, owner of Wildcroft Pottery teaches pottery throwing courses to beginners. However, you are more than welcome to sign up for a course if you have more experience and want to refresh your skills.
With two electric wheels in our fully equipped second garden studio our 2.5 hour classes are for a maximum of two people for adults and children over 10 years old
Interested in hand-building pottery? Click here to learn more about our hand-building classes!
Winter Term 2026 Weekly Course
Starting September 7th 2026 10am-12.30 a 5 week throwing course is available to book with a maximum of two people. Please note dates are 7th, 14th & 21st September & 5th &12th October. There is no lesson on 28th September.
Four weeks are spent learning to throw on an electric wheel and turn your pots to tidy the base and add a foot ring and the final week will be spent glazing. £295 per person, includes all equipment and the firing and glazing of your best 8 pots. If you with to keep more there is a charge of £3 per 100g of bisque fired weight.
Studio time
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Throwing is all about practicing your technique, judging how fast the wheel needs to spin and how quickly to move your hands in order to create a perfect piece
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Studio Time gives you time by yourself to master your throwing and turning techniques taught in your lesson as well as glaze your finished pots
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Once completing a course with Lucy you will be given access to the Studio Time online booking system
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2.5 hour slots Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday mornings and Tuesday evenings
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£30 per 2.5 hour slot plus £3 per 100g of bisque fired weight, so make as many pots as you want and only pay for the ones you choose to keep & decorate with any of the glazes, underglazes, slips and engobes available in our studios
What does throwing pottery entail?
By using your hands to centre and shape a ball of wet clay thrown onto a rotating electric wheel, symmetrical, hollow forms like bowls, vases, mugs, lidded pots and flatter forms such as shallow dishes and plates can be crafted.
Key Stages of Throwing Pottery:
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Centering : The most critical stage to ensure that the ball of clay is centred in the middle of the wheel using a coning motion
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Opening: Creating a hole in the middle of the centered lump of clay with your thumbs.
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Pulling: Lifting the walls up in a controlled fashion to create a cylinder shape
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Compression & collaring: Used between each pull to ensure the clay remains centred and level
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Shaping: Altering the cylinder into bowls, bottles, or mugs
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Collaring: Using pressure to reduce the diameter of the opening
- Turning: Once the piece has dried so it is 'leather hard' it can be turned' upside down on the wheel to tidy up the base and sides and add a foot ring if desired
Clay & Decoration
A smooth stoneware clay is used for throwing at Wildcroft Pottery and is fired in one of the two electric kilns
All pieces you choose to keep can be decorated in your classes or studio time using any of our collection of glazes, slips, underglazes and engobes
