Making Course 10 · Studio course
Pottery —
Hand Building & Sculpture
Five Saturday mornings of pinch, coil and slab — the older pottery, no wheel required. Up to four finished pieces, glazed and fired.
- Starts
- Sat 28 Nov
10:00–12:00 - Where
- Studio 2
14 Kirkgate, Leeds - Runs
- 5 weeks
12 places max
7 left of 12 places on the Sat 28 Nov batch
This batch starts in
Counting down to Sat 28 Nov 2026, 10:00. When it hits zero, this batch is in session.
The older pottery.
No wheel required.
No wheel, no problem. Hand Building teaches the older pottery — pinch, coil and slab — over five Saturday mornings in Studio 2. It's the right first course if you want making more than machinery, and the right second course if the wheel didn't love you back.
Tom teaches the techniques properly: coils joined so they survive, slabs rolled so they don't warp, lids fitted so they close. Every week ends with a finished form, and week five is glazing and the group review.
Everything is provided, including firing for four pieces. Aprons are in the studio; clay washes out of most clothes, and Tom's advice stands — wear something you like less than your pots.
Studio 2 on a Saturday morning — benches, moulds and strong tea.
The five
weeks
Same shape every week: teaching first, then practice with the teacher close by. Open a block to see what you will do — and what you leave with.
Coils rolled evenly and joined invisibly, pinch pots with intent. The two oldest techniques in pottery, done properly.
You leave with: a coiled planter, joined and smoothed.
Rolling slabs that don't warp, cutting clean, and joining at leather-hard. Boxes with lids that actually fit.
You leave with: a lidded box, fitted and drying.
Building over moulds and armatures: bowls, platters and the supports that let clay defy gravity until it dries.
You leave with: a moulded platter, textured and rimmed.
Texture as design: impressing, carving, sprigging and coloured slip. Surfaces that make simple forms sing.
You leave with: your week 1–3 pieces, surfaced and ready for bisque.
Glazing your course pieces with the studio range, and a group review of everything made — what worked, what warped, what to build next.
You leave with: up to four glazed pieces, fired and ready in three weeks.
Batch schedule
Pottery — Hand Building & Sculpture · Studio 2
| Starts | Day & time | Teacher | Places left | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 28 Nov 2026 | Saturdays · 10:00–12:00 · 5 weeks | Tom Okafor | 7 of 12 | Booking |
| Sat 23 Jan 2027 | Saturdays · 10:00–12:00 · 5 weeks | Tom Okafor | 12 of 12 | Booking |
| Sat 20 Mar 2027 | Saturdays · 10:00–12:00 · 5 weeks | Tom Okafor | — | Boards Sat 06 Feb |
Every batch is the same 5 weeks, the same teacher, the same fee. Later batches board on the 1st of the month, two months ahead.
Full course fee
£195
or 3 × £65 monthly — the same total, no extra cost.
- Clay, slips, glazes, tools and apron included
- Firing for up to 4 finished pieces included
- Extra firing £3 per piece
- 15% concession for full-time students & over-60s
How paying works
-
1
Enquire — we hold your place for 48 hours
Send the form below. We confirm your place by email within one working day, and it is held for 48 hours while you pay. No payment is taken from the form itself.
-
2
Pay in full, or start instalment one
The confirmation email carries one payment link. Instalments leave your account monthly on the date you choose; the last one lands before the course ends.
-
3
Changed your mind? The rules are printed
Full refund up to 14 days before your start date. Inside 14 days, one free transfer to a later batch. If we ever cancel, you choose: full refund or free transfer.
Your teacher
Tom Okafor
Tom has thrown pots for fourteen years — first in a community studio in Manchester, then as a production potter making tableware for restaurants. He still makes the mugs Meridian's café corner drinks from; check the base for the stamp.
He teaches the way he was taught: one skill at a time, demonstrated once, then practised until it sticks. His students' most-quoted review is also the shortest: “He never says good enough — he shows you the fix.”
Tom's other batches on the board
- Tue 10 Nov Pottery — Wheel Basics · Studio 2 · 6 weeks · £228
- Tue 24 Nov Ceramics — Glazing & Finishing · Studio 2 · 4 weeks · £164
- Sat 28 Nov Glazing Saturday (workshop) · Studio 2 · one session · £35
- Sat 05 Dec Hand Building Taster (workshop) · Studio 2 · one session · £28
Good to know before session one
- Aprons are provided. Clay washes out of most clothes; wear something you like less than your pots.
- Long nails are fine here — hand building is kinder to them than the wheel.
- Arrive from 09:45; the studio opens fifteen minutes early and the good benches go first.
- Collection in 3 weeks. We email when your glazed pieces leave the kiln.
Enquire for
this course
Two minutes, no payment taken. We reply within one working day (Mon–Sat) and hold your place for 48 hours.
Pottery — Hand Building & Sculpture
- Next start: Sat 28 Nov · 10:00
- Studio 2, Leeds
- £195 or 3 × £65 · 7 places left
Prefer to talk? Call 0113 496 0000, Mon–Sat 09:00–21:00.
Enquiry received
You're on the list.
Reference ENQ-0000
We reply within one working day (Mon–Sat).
Your place is held for 48 hours from our reply. If you don't hear from us, check spam — or call 0113 496 0000 and quote your reference.