Dinnerware Pottery Class in Denver: Make Your Own Plates, Bowls and Cups

There's something special about eating dinner off a plate you threw yourself. If you've been searching for a dinnerware pottery class in Denver, a place to learn to make your own plates, bowls and cups, here's how it works at Claya, in RiNo's big, bright studio at 3440 Walnut Street.

The short version: Intro to Wheel Throwing: Dinnerware Sets is a six-week Sunday morning class with Ethan Billings. You learn the wheel from the very beginning and work toward a set of pieces that belong together on your table.

Intro to Wheel Throwing: Dinnerware Sets

This class covers everything in our other six-week Intro to Wheel Throwing classes, plus the forms that make up a set of dishes: the difference between throwing a bowl and a cup, and how to make plates on the wheel. It's built for beginners, so you don't need any experience to join.

• Sold out: the November 1 session is full
• $300 for the full six weeks
• Sundays, 10:00 AM–12:30 PM with Ethan Billings, starting November 1
• Six class meetings (November 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, and December 6), plus a make-up and glaze session on Sunday, December 13, 10:00 AM–12:30 PM
• Small groups, so Ethan has real time with each student
• Clay, tools, apron, our glaze library and all firing for class are included

Sold out · See open Intro to Wheel classes

How you get from a lump of clay to a set of dishes

Ethan sets the pace and meets each person where they are, but the six weeks follow the same path as our other intro classes, with dinnerware woven in along the way:

1. Centering. Wedging, setting up your wheel and getting clay running true under your hands. Everyone wobbles at first, and that's completely normal.
2. Opening and pulling. Your first cylinder with even walls, which is the starting point for nearly every cup and bowl.
3. Bowls, cups and handles. Flaring out for a bowl, collaring in for a cup, and pulling a handle so a cup becomes a mug. This is where you learn why a bowl and a cup ask different things of your hands.
4. Plates and more clay. Throwing wide and low for plates, centering more clay, and trimming clean feet so your pieces sit nicely on the table.
5. Surface and glazing. Underglaze and carving, then choosing colors from our glaze library and waxing, dipping, pouring and brushing so your pieces look like they go together.
6. Finishing up. Glazing whatever is left, then the extra December 13 session gives you time to catch up or finish glazing. Finished pieces are ready to pick up within a week after they come out of the kiln.

Tips for a set that feels like a set

• Pick a simple shape and repeat it. Matching sets come from making the same form a few times, not from making one perfect piece. Repetition is also the fastest way to get better at the wheel.
• Keep your glaze palette small. One or two glazes across every piece ties a set together, even when the shapes vary a little.
• Embrace the handmade look. Slight differences between plates are part of the charm, and a little irregularity is what makes them unmistakably yours.

Practice time between classes

While you're enrolled, student Open Studio is included: Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 AM to 6 PM. It's a great time to throw a few extra bowls or practice plates on your own. Wheels, tools, glazes, shelving and firing are covered, and clay for Open Studio practice is available for purchase in studio. Learn more about Open Studio at Claya.

Other ways to make something for your home

• A different day for the same skills. Intro to Wheel Throwing also has open sessions on Fridays 12–2:30 PM with Jesse starting October 30 ($300), and Mondays 12–2:30 PM with Mary starting November 9 ($300). Mary's Monday 6–8:30 PM section is sold out.
• Working by hand instead of on the wheel. Intro to Handbuilding: Planters runs Sunday afternoons, 1:30–4 PM with Ethan starting November 1, $300.
• Already thrown before? Advanced Beginner: Next Steps on the Pottery Wheel builds on the basics with bigger forms, trimming, handles and lids, $325 for six weeks.
• Focused one-on-one time. A private pottery lesson is $105 for 1.5 hours solo, a nice way to zero in on plates or handles.
• Keep building your set. When you're ready to throw on your own schedule, Studio Membership gives you shelf space and the same wheels, glazes and kilns. Extended Founding is $140/month with a 2-month minimum. Member glaze firing is free through December 31, 2026, then 500 cubic inches per month are included and $0.04 per cubic inch after that, and bisque firing is always free.

Good to know before you sign up

• What to wear: clothes you don't mind getting clay on, with short nails if you can. Aprons are provided.
• Where: Claya, 3440 Walnut Street in Denver's RiNo Arts District. Street parking is near 34th and Walnut, all around the studio.
• Cancellations: 5 or more days before the first class, you get a refund minus a $12 fee. Closer in, you get a 6-month store credit. See how to cancel or switch a class.
• Retail Studio Hours: Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10 AM–6 PM, and Sunday by appointment.

Compare every session on the pottery classes in Denver page, check pricing, or read the classes FAQ.

Sold out · See open Intro to Wheel classes

Six Sundays from now, you could be setting the table with dishes you made yourself. We'd love to help you make them.