• liza furr talking to students at dirty lizard studio
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foundations of a good pot — 5-week beginner wheelthrowing [fall 2025]

foundations of a good pot — 5-week beginner wheelthrowing [fall 2025]

$333 / human

you’ll get to know the wheel (and yourself) as you form 6-8 pieces of your own and learn the process of making pots. we’ll wedge, pull, shape, trim, and glaze pottery, touch on methods of decorating and carving, learn about different types of clay, and find inspiration within natural phenomena.

sorry, no make-ups but there is studio time to use in case you can’t make it to class.

course schedule + outline

Week 1 - Ready, set, throw! 

  • Studio Walk-through / Settling in
  • Learn: Wedging, Centering, Pulling: Cylinders + Consistency 
  • Goal: get comfortable with wedging and coning; be brave, cut at least one piece in half.

Week 2: Grow grow grow 

  • Learn: Pulling, Stretching, Shaping: Honoring the Foundation 
  • Using the tools 
  • goal: consistency

Week 3: Knowing when to stop

  • Learn: Trimming, Attachments, Carving: refining the form for handles
  • goal: finish your first 3 pieces; make a mug


Week 4: Open Studio / Round Table: 

No Classes, Just Practice | Studio Open tuesday through thursday 11-9

goal: make as much as you can!

Wet Clay Deadlines: Oct 1, Nov 19 - THIS IS THE LAST DAY TO TRIM AND FINISH WET WORK

Week 5: Glazing Techniques and Expectations

Dipping, Painting, Decorating

goal: glaze all pieces!

Pottery will be ready to pick up two weeks after our course ends :-)

what’s class like?

i’ll show you how to take soft clay and wedge, center, stretch, shape, and sculpt it into a variety of functional objects. we’ll talk about a variety of other techniques as they come up in discussion. 

each session starts with a demonstration of a new technique (sometimes two or three) and requests are encouraged. beginners will follow a basic course guideline (PDF sent with purchase confirmation) but definitely come with inspiration in mind and hand [photos are great!]

cost includes glaze, tools, aprons and everything else you need. clay is provided during class and practice hours :-)

open studio time?

[open studio - guided practice - make-up days]
— studio access is available to students during the week on wednesday nights and sunday afternoons. times can vary week to week, we’ll let you know what the schedule is each week.

learning the craft entails a lot of practice outside of class hours. come by during the week to keep your skills fresh and receive guidance for the week’s class goals. updated weekly schedules will be sent to you once your reservation is made.

see all the details

all the lovely little details

what to expect in a weekly session:

what you’ll make:

we’ll focus on different shapes, techniques or forms in each class. you’ll walk away knowing how to create mugs, bowls, cups, vases, and other objects, all of which will be glazed and finished as microwave and dishwasher-safe pieces.

where we’ll make it:

class occurs outdoors under cover in our tropical garden.

expect flora, fauna, and general #florida phenomena! long pants and/or closed toed shoes are highly recommended.

how you’ll practice:

studio access will generally be available to students sundays and wednesdays. depending on the schedule that day, you can sit in on beginner one-time classes and get a refresher if needed.

how we’ll glaze it:

glazing occurs on the last class of the session. we’ll fire within two weeks of class to allow you time to finish all your pots during the week. glazing takes a while sometimes.

are all materials provided?

cost includes a 10lb bag of clay to be used at your leisure during practice hours, as well as tools and glazes. during classtime, we’ll provide clay to make with and all glazes are included.

during the course additional clay can be purchased (10lbs/$20, cost includes glaze and firing)

work made and not picked up within 3 weeks after the course has finished will be tossed, we don’t have room for extra pots :-(

here are some good things to know

studio info + location

how to find us:

our address is 2330 monroe street, hollywood, fl. you’re looking for a jungle house with a gravel driveway + big banyan tree in the front yard.

this is a residential neighborhood! we have room for three more cars in the driveway. you can also park on the street directly out front! please don’t park in the lots adjacent to us.

where to go when you get here:

once you’ve arrived, head to the sculpture at the wooden gate, there’s a bell at the gate you can ring if it’s your first time.