Studio Pottery London
whether you are new to pottery or have experience, this is the place where creativity thrives in abundance
My eyes have always been drawn to ceramics for as long as I can remember. I like all kinds of vessels, have inordinate amount of cups, bowls and milk jugs and always make a point of visiting exhibitions where work of potters are exhibited. Potters are exceptional people, using clay and water, the power of their hands, coupled with the potter’s wheel, crafting on a regular basis, even though the final result can never be predicted - and you have to make peace with that from the start. When Studio Pottery London was opened in 2019, a stone’s throw from Eccleston Yards, a joint venture by renowned potter Gregory Tingay ( who also happens to be a former benedictine monk & has a calm, reflective, grounded energy around him ) and director Lucy Atwood (she studied at The Courtauld Institute of Art, followed by work at auction house Christie’s), it quickly became obvious that it will be a very special space and place. With the focus on throwing - working with clay at the wheel - and welcoming both novices and experienced potters, Studio Pottery London is a place to learn and become part of a warm and talented community of diverse creatives of all ages and nationalities.
Every time I am in Victoria, I make sure to pass by the Studio and peak in, to see potters working at the wheel - or more experienced potters refining their pieces after the initial firing in the kiln but before pieces are glazed (done at a higher temperature than initial firing). During lockdown my daughter (who has been lucky to try pottery at her school, as part of the extra curriculum club schedule) and I ordered clay kits and made some basic bowls, loving the soothing experience and the time spent together. Watching The Great Pottery Throwdown on Chanel 4 only reinforces the notion that potters are lovely, warm, humble people, who welcome newbies with warm arms into their artistic tribe.
Until recently an opportunity never arose for me to try Studio Pottery London classes - and to be honest I was a little bit nervous too, knowing how complex and unpredictable pottery can be. So I walked by the Studio and kept reading pottery books (I highly recommend Keith Bremer Jones’s autobiography “A boys in the china shop” and Studio Pottery London alumni Florence St. George “The Potter’s Way: Heal your mind and unleash your creativity through the power of clay”). Then a DM appeared on my Instagram, inviting me to try a three-hour “taster class for beginners”. I replied with an almost instant, grateful “yes”, feeling both petrified and excited in equal measure.
“Taster Class” is an introductory pottery class, where each participant will have his or hers own wheel and be guided through the process by an expert tutor. Whether you book for yourself or a group of friends, this will be a wonderfully social and spirited introduction to the joys of throwing, where conversations will flow and concentration will prevail. When I had my taster class last week, I was one of six students and our expert tutor on the day was experienced potter Joshua Aubrook, who was helpful, softly spoken and endlessly patient.
During your three-hour session - and I promise you, time will fly, leaving you wanting MORE - you will learn how to wedge, prepare the clay, as well as centre it, secure the clay on the wheel – and throw – pulling up the walls of the clay into a cylinder. This is an uplifting and inspiring experience, but I also felt nervous too, even though I made myself a promise to have no expectations, simply to enjoy being in the studio and learn as much as I can during the class.
Joshua explained and demonstrated the basic to us and then, as we proceeded to put his teaching into practise, he walked around, corrected and helped each one of us to get the basics right. Our group was quite diverse, a couple of young women, an older woman, close in age to myself and an Asian young couple, whose concentration and precision I came to much admire during the session, stealing glances around my fellow potters. We laughed, we chatted, we experimented - and I lost count of how many times I ended up making the base of my vessel too thick and messing up the walls, making them collapse and having to start again. Did I feel frustrated with myself? You bet I did, but it was a good kind of frustration. There is a child-like desire to succeed, to create a beautiful, but simple piece of pottery and the young man next to me did such a beautiful, precise job of creating a unified, elegant, simple piece of pottery. We all attempted to throw multiple pots and in the end ended up choosing one to be later fired and glazed by a member of the Studio Pottery London. I am hoping to collect mine in a couple of weeks and will then share it with you - for now you can see it’s ‘raw’ form in the image below. I chose the one on the right to be fired.
What really surprised me during the lesson was Joshua telling us again and again how important our core is to potter’s work. If you don’t position yourself at the wheel correctly, meaning your core and hands placement, not only it will negatively impact your pottery skills and pieces you produce, but it can lead to body aches and pains as well. Wrist issues, like back ones, are not unusual for potters and can force you to pause your work for months on end. There is also the importance of positioning of your fingers - an art form in itself, if you ask me and I struggled a little to get my head round it all on my first attempt. Joshua’s reminders to focus on breathing were very helpful, as it is one of potters ‘secret’ superpowers, when one gets it right and remembers to breath properly.
The feeling of clay beneath your fingers is both calming and comforting, the shaping, the adding of water to get the consistency just right - not too wet, nor dry - the pressure on the wheel’s pedal and the easing off. There are many moving parts and surely no-one gets it all right on the first attempt? Or even second? I feel that pottery is one of those skills that you can continue to learn and improve through your lifetime - and still not know it all in the end. Having said that, you manage to learn and do a lot in the space of three hours. As you work, people pass by and many stop and gaze at what you are doing, talking wordlessly behind the glass. Pottery seems to make people both curious and happy, as people glance at one’s work and smile - some knowingly, others with the slight amusement of knowing about pottery, but not realising fully what it entails. I thought I knew about pottery a little bit when I arrived at the Studio, yet I left a little wiser but feeling that I barely scratched the vastness of the surface that is the art of pottery.
As we worked & on occasion talked with my lovely group of complete strangers, innately comfortable in each other’s company, Gregory walked by into his glass cubicle, with one of the experienced potters joining him later for some words of guidance. There is plenty of space for experienced potters to work in and it’s nice to observe their focus and concentration on refining of their individual work. You can also glimpse a lot of potters work drying up on the shelves, with some pieces leaving you with the feeling of complete awe.
What Studio Pottery London offers is very dimensional - there are classes and courses for beginners and experienced potters who want to refine their skills and knowledge. You can work at the wheel by yourself or with a group of like-minded strangers. You can explore glazing and various techniques, including making of the tiles, all the while observing and learning from people around you. It’s a quiet, reflective place, where calm and joy reside in perfect harmony. And after the initial three-hour introduction I sincerely hope to return one day and become a better novice potter, as being at studio Pottery London left me with even more respect for potters and the feeling of joy that I felt inside for a good few days afterwards. Clay is a simple, but wondrous material that envelopes you in the feeling of calm, elbows tucked in, head and core engaged - and always unpredictable result in the end. Whatever it will be, it will be a unique piece that you crafted, with a gentle heartbeat and a strong desire to leave your imprint in the clay .) Also remember to clean the space, the wheel and the tools after yourself and to put the clay that you messed up into the recycling basket, so its earthiness comes alive again on somebody else’s potter’s wheel. The happiness - and the residual clay splashes on my face - are unmistakable in the image below .)
With gratitude to Lucy for inviting me to experience the taster class at Studio London Pottery and to Joshua for being the most wonderfully kind and warm instructor to explain the techniques, breathing, body positions and best way to use the tools. You can find the information about the Studio here and about the classes & times here.