8-week Introduction to Ceramics Hand-building and Wheel Throwing Course, Tuesday morning
- Location Vagnhöfdi 14, basement, Reykjavik.
- Length 3 hours and 30 min per class for 8 weeks
- Time 10.00-13.30
- Included all materials and firing, tea & coffee
- Language Icelandic and English
- Level Open - introduction to ceramics
- Teacher Birgitte Munck
This course covers hand-building and wheel throwing. See the course structure below.
Each 3.5-hour session is taught by the same instructor and combines group instruction with self-paced practice. By the end, you will have made several hand-built and wheel-thrown pieces and learned the basics of glazing.
This structured introduction is ideal for beginners who want time to master the basics before taking another ceramics course. No experience is required; most students are new to clay.
Before signing up, please make sure you can attend as many scheduled sessions as possible, especially the first two. Our courses are usually full, so we cannot transfer students between groups, offer make-up sessions, or issue refunds after placing your booking.
What you'll learn, week by week:
Week 1: Getting started with hand-building. Get familiar with the studio, clay, tools, and safety procedures. Learn to wedge clay and begin a project using pinching and coiling.
Weeks 2–3: Hand-building continues. Develop your skills in pinching, coiling, and slab building—the core techniques that build confidence with clay before moving to the wheel. You'll apply decorative techniques to your pieces, use slips and finalize your hand- building pieces before moving on.
Weeks 4–7: Wheel throwing. Learn to center clay, pull walls, shape cylinders, bowls, and cups, and trim finished pieces. You may also continue with hand-building projects.
Week 8: Glazing. Apply glazes, and decoration, and prepare your work for the kiln.
Before start of your ceramic course
Please arrive 10 minutes early as each session opens with foundational techniques that everything else builds on. It's hard to catch up if you've missed that groundwork, and disruptive to others once the class is underway.
An apron (synthetic is better than cotton, as it traps less clay dust). Shoes you don't mind getting earthy. A pen and paper for notes, as there's a lot to absorb in the early weeks. A small towel for drying your hands between steps. Clay, glazes, and equipment are all provided. A snack for own break.
Please carefully check all the class dates on the course to make sure that you are able to attend all your lessons. Unfortunately, it is not possible to reschedule any missed lessons or join lessons on another course. Our classes run at full capacity and on different lesson schedules.
You won't be the only one. Our instructors are used to working with complete beginners, and there's no performance involved. Just clay, time, and a room full of people in the same position as you. Long hair needs tying back, and long nails will make wheel-throwing noticeably harder.
Your pieces will be ready for pick-up 2-3 weeks after finishing your ceramic course. The instructor will send out a group mail when everything is ready for collection.
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