Pottery Wheel or Hand Building: Which Class Is Right for You?

If you have been thinking about trying pottery recently, you have probably run into two options and one question: what is the actual difference between the pottery wheel and hand building?

It is the question we answer most often, and the good news is that neither one requires experience. Here is what each involves, what they feel like, and how to pick the one that fits you.

What Is the Pottery Wheel?

The pottery wheel is the one you have seen in movies. An electric wheel spins a lump of clay at speed while you use your hands, water, and steady pressure to shape it into a bowl, mug, or vase. It is something that should be on everyone’s bucket list to try at least once.

Yes, it is the one in the Ghost scene. People ask, and we love that they ask.

Wheel throwing is the more challenging of the two, and that is exactly why people love it. There is a real learning curve to centering the clay, and centering is the foundation for everything that follows. The wheel moves fast; it does not wait for you, and it will absolutely humble you the first time.

Then something clicks. Your hands settle, the clay stops fighting you, and a wall rises up between your fingers. That moment is why students come back.

At Mud Hut Pottery Studio, an instructor sits with you through every step, so nobody is left guessing. Our Beginner Pottery Wheel class runs 90 minutes, seven days a week, for $50 per person. If a weeknight suits you better, Happy Hour Pottery Wheel is $40 per person, Monday through Thursday at 4. In those two classes, you can expect to make two small pots on the wheel that we will dry, fire, and glaze in our studio glaze “caramel steam.” For those who would like to customize their pottery pieces, we have a special two-hour Beginner Pottery Wheel and Painting on Sundays at 4 for $75.

What Is Hand Building?

Hand building is exactly what it sounds like: making pottery without a wheel. Just clay, simple tools, and your hands. It is one of the oldest crafts on earth, and it predates the wheel by thousands of years. It is also one of the least challenging.

There are three main techniques, and most projects use one or a combination of them.

Pinch. You start with a ball of clay and pinch it open with your thumb and fingers, working around and around until it becomes a bowl or cup. You can even combine two pinch pots to create larger cups, vases, objects, etc. It is the most intuitive method there is, and it is usually where kids and first-timers begin.

Slab. You roll the clay flat like dough, then cut and shape it into the form you want. Slabs usually have some form of template to cut from. Slab work is what we use most often in our studio, because it is beginner-friendly and it produces beautiful, clean results. Our Coffee and Clay class is a slab project: you build a mug from a flat sheet of clay, add texture with rollers, and personalize it with underglaze. The best part is our coffee and clay class actually comes with a coffee or espresso drink from our coffee cart. If coffee isn’t your thing, no worries; we have tea drinks such as iced peach tea or chai.

Coil. You roll long ropes of clay and stack them to build walls upward, smoothing them together as you go. Coil work lets you make taller or more sculptural pieces than pinching alone.

You may also hear hand building called sculpting. That is fair, since sculpting is technically another form of hand building. Whatever you call it, the pace is slower, the process is more forgiving, and it is significantly less messy than the wheel.

How to Choose

Choose the wheel if you want the challenge, you have always wanted to try that spinning wheel, you like learning a physical skill, or you are coming with a partner and want the classic date night experience.

Choose hand building if you want something relaxed and low pressure, you are bringing kids, you want more creative control over the shape and details of your piece, or you would rather not get quite so muddy.

Choose both if you cannot decide. Plenty of our students start with one and come back for the other, and our Date Night class lets couples pick either option.

What Both Classes Have in Common

No experience is needed for either one. Every class is led by an instructor who walks you through each step, and all clay, tools, and materials are included.

Whichever you choose, you take home something you made yourself. Your piece is fired in our kilns, glazed, and ready for pickup 4 to 6 weeks later. Everything we make is stoneware, so it is dishwasher-, microwave-, and oven-safe.

One planning note: all of our classes require advance booking, and they often fill up weeks ahead. Paint Your Own Pottery is our only walk-in option.

Come Try Both

Mud Hut Pottery Studio is located at 9900 Indiana Ave, Unit 5 in Riverside, just off the 91 Freeway and easy to reach from anywhere in the Inland Empire.

Whether you want to spin something on the wheel or build a mug by hand, we have a class that starts exactly where you are. Browse the schedule and book at MudHutPotteryRiverside.as.me.