Intro to clay – Hand Building - Jan.2026

Welcome to our handbuilding starter course - a gentle, creative introduction to working with clay and shaping functional or decorative pieces. In a small group of eight, you’ll be guided step-by-step by our instructor, with plenty of room to explore, try things out, and find your own rhythm. During the first two sessions, we’ll dive into the basics: building vessels, forming simple shapes, and getting comfortable with techniques like slab building, pinching, and coil construction. You’ll also learn easy ways to add handles, textures, and little details that make your pieces truly yours. In the third session, we’ll focus on colour and glazing. You’ll decorate your bisqued pieces using brush-on or dip glazes - the magic layer that melts into a smooth, food-safe, glassy surface in the kiln. After this session, everything goes into the kiln for its final firing. There’s no strict limit to how many pieces you can make, as long as everything is trimmed, glazed, and safe to fire within the course time. Your finished work will be ready for pick-up about 2–3 weeks after the last session. ✨Come get your hands into clay and see where it takes you!✨ Time commitment: One session per week, 3 hours each spread over 3 non-consecutive weeks. In total, 9 hours of studio time spread over 4 weeks. 1st session: Monday, January 19th 18:00-21:00 2nd session: Monday, January 26th 18:00-21:00 3rd session: Monday, February 9th 18:00-21:00 Location: Ceramics Collective Basel - Spalentorweg 7, 4051 Basel Price: CHF 400 (all materials and firing of your pieces included) Who is this course for? This course is for adults (16+) who are complete beginners - anyone curious about clay and ready to get their hands a little messy. It’s a great starting point if you’re looking for a new hobby; after the course, you’ll be all set to join our regular Open Studio sessions and keep exploring your own ideas at your own pace. If you’d love to try clay but can’t commit to all three sessions, no worries - our shorter beginner-friendly workshops are a perfect alternative! Take a look at the 'Workshop' section to see what we have planned and see you there(;