Pottery making at Hand/Thrown Ceramics Studio (Photo by Alexis Courtney)
According to archaeologists, ceramics is an art that has been practiced in Virginia some 3,200 years. Today, the ancient art of ceramics is a source of interest and pleasure for a growing community in Richmond, and there are many places to learn and practice the skill. One of the newest is the Hand/Thrown Ceramics Studio on Brookland Park Boulevard, founded in 2018 by Emily Wicks and Alexis Courtney (Courtney is a contributing photographer to Richmond magazine and R•Home).
“Alexis and I met while working in a clay studio together,” Wicks says. “We decided we wanted more room to create. ... When we found a location, we realized that, if we had this dream, there were other people that did, too.”
The studio began as a membership-based space, with eight full-time members. In 2019, Wicks and Courtney began to offer classes. Now, there are lessons at the studio six days a week, ranging from one-day introductory sessions to an eight-week advanced course.
“One-day classes are great for people who have never tried this before,” Wicks says. “There is a six-week class for beginners, too. It’s more holistic though — we take you through the whole experience, from throwing to trimming to glazing. We have hand-building classes and wheel-throwing classes. There are seven people per class, which I think is a great number. Everyone in those classes gets to know each other.”
The multiweek classes come with access to the studio. Prices range from $40 for one-day lessons to $305 for the multiweek course. Membership is $150 per month.
On Cary Street, Rosewood Pottery Studio has been operating since 2006 and in its current location since 2012. Founders Janet Lopatofsky and Kathleen Lipinski studied under the same pottery master before moving to Richmond in 2003. “Kathleen learned hand-building and chemistry, and I learned wheel-throwing and glaze application,” Lopatofsky says. “We are partners not just in business, but in life. When we got married, we were thinking about having a home business. But when we moved here, we found that Richmond didn’t have a true community studio yet.”
At Rosewood, beginner lessons run eight weeks and cost $280. The classes have six students per instructor. “After the first eight weeks, you won’t be an expert, but you’ll have a good understanding of what you need to do to get better,” Lopatofsky says. “You’ll learn how to wedge your clay, how your clay moves, how to center it on the wheel. You’ll have basic skills to throw small bowls and cups.” For a single-day beginner lesson, Rosewood hosts Clay Dates year-round for $60 per person.
Both studios have opportunities to sign up throughout the year. At Rosewood, the spring session will begin on March 19. At Hand/Thrown, the quarterly sign-up sheet is available at handthrown.studio/classes.
“I used to work a really stressful job, and when I started working on the wheel, it was like meditation,” Lopatofsky says. “It was very grounding. It’s satisfying to make something with your own hands.”
Upcoming Pottery Classes
- Wheel Throwing I Class, March 19-May 13
- Handbuilding for Fun, March 19-May 13
- Continuing Clay, Wheel Throwing, April 13-June 1
- Hand-built Mirrors, April 28
