Pottery Wheel-throwing classes and courses at Jo Davies Ceramics
We are a specialist wheel-throwing studio offering ceramics classes and courses exclusively for adults in Walthamstow, East London. You may be a complete pottery beginner or an experienced ceramicist looking for advanced ceramics teaching to improve your technical skills on the potter’s wheel.
Jo Davies is an expert in wheel-throwing, porcelain and kiln firing and has taught a wide range of students - from school groups to university lecturing. With a Masters in ceramics from the Royal College of Art and close to twenty years of professional practice as an internationally exhibiting ceramicist, her advice is sought by people looking for a taster session in wheel-throwing clay and by those who want to take their knowledge further. Jo employs a small group of dedicated ceramics tutors to help deliver classes.
Beginners’ pottery throwing classes are taught with the help of Jo Davies’ experienced tutors who teach using Jo’s methods and philosophy. Masterclasses and advanced throwing classes are taught exclusively by Jo. All classes are for adults and we regret that we cannot offer children’s classes.
Small-group sessions
Pottery classes at the Jo Davies Studio are some of the smallest adult wheel-throwing classes available in London with a maximum ratio of 3 students to 1 tutor. The small class size will allow you to progress more quickly, allowing your tutor to help you quickly and encourage good technique. Jo has designed her classes this way because so many of her past students had frustrating experiences waiting for help at other, large group workshops and ended up struggling later with bad habits. Whether you’re a complete pottery beginner or developing your wheel-throwing technique, a smaller group means less waiting for tutor-attention and more time throwing on the wheel, and that can only be a good thing.
What’s Included
The price includes all teaching, materials, firing and finishing, and reflects the quality of teaching and personal guidance you will receive which, due to the small class size, offers far better value than most overfilled classes. Many other studios charge extra for the quantity of clay being used, firings and tools. At the Jo Davies Studio we have decided to give you one fee for your class and that’s all you pay.
You’ll collect your pieces from the studio from around 4-8 weeks after your class depending on firing schedules at the time of your class. See our Collecting After Class page here
Where is the Studio?
We are in Walthamstow, London - just metres from Queens Road Walthamstow Overground and a 5-minute walk from Walthamstow Central Underground station. 70a Exmouth Road, Walthamstow, London, E17 7QG. See Contact Page for full details
Book online
Purchasing a place on a group class or course via this website secures you a place in your class. Private session bookings are subject to confirmation of studio and tutor availability, so we will be in touch to confirm your appointment within 48 hours once you have booked via the link above or been in touch with us directly by phone or email.
Can’t make all the dates of a course?
If you’d like to book a weekly course but can’t make one of the dates, just let us know - you can schedule a catch-up session during one of our Sunday morning freewheel sessions. A maximum of 1 catch-up class per 4-week course (or 2 sessions per 8 week course) can be arranged, and these must be pre-booked by contacting studio@jo-davies.com.
Can’t see the course you’d like?
If you’d like to book a particular class or course but it’s fully booked, you could join our mailing list to be the first to hear about new class and course dates, and occasionally if we have a cancellation we can offer the place out to those we know are interested. Please fill in the ‘first-to-know’ form below.
Last-minute?
We don’t usually accept bookings with less than 24 hours’ notice, but if you have a last-minute request then it may be possible to accommodate you, just ask! studio@jo-davies.com or 07813 965 667
Gift Vouchers
You can book a class or course as a gift or voucher through our online booking system - the voucher will be redeemable on any of our classes, so your ‘giftee’ will be able to choose and schedule their session themselves once you’ve given the gift. Alternatively, if the exact date or the utmost secrecy is important to you, please do book a place directly through the scheduling links above, and pop us a note to say who will be attending the class.
Using your gift voucher - please remove any hyphens from your voucher code when using it at the online checkout.
Collecting your finished pieces
Classes include all teaching, materials and kiln firings, including glazing and finishing items for students, if you wish to glaze the items yourself elsewhere then this can be discussed. Your items do need to be collected within 3 months of the class. Read more about Collecting After Class
Cancelling or rescheduling a class
We are a small studio offering one class at a time - we try to be flexible but there are some limits to what we can do. Please read our cancellation and rescheduling policy for more information
Prepare for your class:
Wear clothes you don't mind getting splashed for each session - all materials wash out easily though. Please bring a face covering.
We prefer our students to wear trousers or shorts rather than skirts because of the practicalities of throwing at a potter’s wheel (skirts can be a little physically restricting for this activity) but if you’re happy then we’re happy.
Arrive with short fingernails - this is very helpful when throwing and long fingernails can really get in the way of your enjoyment of the activity.
Please plan your journey to the studio so you can arrive on time. Classes cannot go on beyond the allotted time and we want you to have the maximum amount of enjoyment from the class.
Please also see further measures we are taking at the studio in response to COVID-19 on our Classes and public health page