Award in Introduction to Pottery

Course Description

This unit is designed to introduce learners to the essentials of clay as a material-how it behaves, how it changes throughout the making process, and how to work with it effectively. It focuses on developing a fundamental understanding of clay’s core properties such as plasticity, shrinkage, moisture retention, and its response to forming, drying, and firing.

A key emphasis of this unit is that there are often multiple ways to achieve the same result. Learners will explore a range of forming methods including pinching, slab-building, and slip casting, as well as introductory wheel-throwing. Through hands-on experimentation and guided instruction, students will be encouraged to discover which techniques best suit different design goals or material challenges.

The unit will cover practical approaches to flattening and forming clay-including rolling, pouring, pinching, and throwing-and how to prevent issues like warping or cracking when building tiles or more complex forms. Learners will use templates, practise maintaining consistent sizes, and apply effective joining techniques such as scoring, slipping, and coiling.

Additional content includes mould-making using both clay and plaster for casting purposes. This unit provides a strong technical and creative foundation for further exploration in ceramics.

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Overall Learning Outcomes

• Identify key properties of clay
• Apply basic clay-forming techniques
• Demonstrate joining and construction methods
• Recognise different technical approaches