After spending nearly a year indoors, I’ve come to think of our time in isolation—okay, let’s call it what it is, quarantine—as a long-running dress rehearsal for the post-pandemic world.
I’ve bought clothes under the impression that I can and will wear them once this pandemic is over. My cupboard is overflowing with ceramic bowls, plates and trinkets I keep telling myself will see the light by the end of this at an intimate dinner I’ll be hosting.
As if that wasn’t enough, I’m considering making my own dining set through various virtual pottery workshops, where ceramicists teach you how to make plates, bowls and even mugs without the need for a potter’s wheel and without even stepping out of your house.
For others, pottery making along with other crafts and hobbies serves a therapeutic purpose, something to distract you from the mundane all the while creating things you can actually use.
Whatever your motivation is, we’ve compiled three pottery studios conducting virtual and intimate on-ground sessions this March you can sign up for.
Kibō Studio
Basic hand-building class – Mar. 20
A beginner-friendly workshop via Zoom instructed by potter Reine So, the workshop includes a comprehensive lesson on hand-building techniques. For P2,800, you already have a ceramic starter kit, which includes clay, tools and other materials. Your final pieces will also be glazes, fired and delivered to your doorstep after a few weeks.
Sign up here.
Mess We Made Manila
Marbling plate class – Mar. 13, 20, 21 and 27
Held in Southbank Café & Lounge Westgate Alabang, this workshop only accommodates a maximum of four students per class due to health protocols. The good news is, they have classes plotted throughout the month of March, there’s a good chance you can still snag a slot.
By mixing ceramic pigments of different colors in the base clay, you can make colorful swirled plates, bowls and saucers that mimic the look of marble. You can get the class with light snacks and refreshments for P3,500.
Your finished product can take two to three weeks to arrive after going through the process of glazing in a kiln. The wares are microwavable and can be used as tableware.
Sign up here.
Pottery Sessions
Hand-building workshop – Mar. 27
Learn how to make pinched cups and mugs, sculptural bowls and animal pen holders with the help of ceramic artists Cat Choachuy, Annie Reyes and Jezzel Wee. This three-part virtual workshop has separate fees ranging from P3,500 to P3,800, inclusive of pottery kits (one kg stoneware clay, sponge, wooden rib, metal rib, wooden knife, toggle wire, ribbon tool, loop tool, pin tool, wooden guides, brush, slip, cloth, printed template, bisque mold included for the sculptural workshop), glazing and firing.
Everyone is welcome to join the sessions, from beginner adults to kids as young as six and teens.
Sign up here.
Wabi Sabi
Crash course or full course with wheel throwing – Mar. 25
For those who want to experience pottery in all its “Ghost”-esque wheel throwing glory, you can sign up for these three-hour sessions.
Pay P4,400 inclusive of materials and you can make any (beginner-friendly) builds you can think of—no need to even sweat out glazing as they will do that for you, except when you sign up for the full three-session course.
The sessions are held in Wabi Sabi’s studio in San Juan City.
Sign up here.
Tahanan Pottery
Basic wheel class – Mondays and Tuesdays of March
If you’re into pottery for the long haul, you might want to consider Tahanan Pottery’s seven-session class centered on the basics of wheel throwing. Learn how to make functional vessels such as mugs, bowls and plates in their studio at Timog, Quezon City.
They only entertain six students per session/day due to COVID-19 protocols. You may book your slot by sending them a DM on Instagram.