Color in Clay: Monday Evenings — South Philadelphia Pottery Class with Madeline Rothman

On Monday evenings at Black Hound Clay Studio South (1701 Federal Street) the city takes on a different pitch: a room full of wheels, racks of bisqued clay, and palettes of color becomes a low-lit laboratory for making. 'Color in Clay: Monday Evenings' is an eight-week, three-hour session (March 30–May 18, 6–9 pm) led by instructor Madeline Rothman that pushes beyond functional throwing into surface work—brushwork and transfers using colored slips, inlay with colored clay, slip trailing and sgraffito, and painting with underglazes. The course asks that students arrive with at least one beginning handbuilding class under their belt; prior familiarity with coil or slab techniques will let you dive straight into larger, more complex forms. Classes are intentionally small (12 students), which keeps instruction hands-on and the studio's kiln schedules efficient: tuition covers instruction, tools, glazes, firing, and 25 pounds of studio clay, plus a $20 lab allocation for specially made colored clay. Every student also gets one free open-studio session to refine pieces between meetings. The work you produce is glazed clear and fired, ready to go home as locally made tableware or gallery-ready experiments in texture and color. Find the classroom in the back of the building; the space is wheelchair accessible and welcomes makers age 16 and up. Black Hound Clay South takes a practical approach to craft education—the emphasis is technique, repeatable processes, and studio habits that translate to continued practice after the class ends. An installment payment plan is available for early registrants, and the studio recommends reading its What to Know Guide before the first night. For visitors to Philadelphia, this course makes an excellent indoor counterpoint to the city's streets. Spend a day walking South Philadelphia's blocks and bring the momentum into the studio: the pieces you make are lightweight souvenirs that capture the city's grit-as-color aesthetic. The class is special to the neighborhood because it concentrates a disciplined, color-forward ceramic curriculum in a compact, community-minded studio, and it supplies specially formulated colored clay not commonly available in larger chains. Whether you're an experienced handbuilder looking to expand your surface vocabulary or a traveler craving a hands-on creative night instead of a museum, Color in Clay delivers technical instruction, a convivial group setting, and finished work you can use. Email [email protected] with questions and arrive ready to get clay under your nails. Throughout the series you'll learn to predict how colored slips change in firing, how layered underglaze builds depth, and how texture reads on larger forms—practical lessons that accelerate practice. Small format experiments and larger slab or coil projects both get equal attention, and finished pieces make holiday gifts or additions to your travel kit. Bring work clothes and appetite for detail.