Intermediate Handbuilding: Color in Clay Evenings at Black Hound Clay Studio West

On Thursday evenings at Black Hound Clay Studio West, located at 715 South 50th Street, West Philadelphia, the studio fills with the concentrated sound of tools, slip jars, and focused conversation about surface. Intermediate Handbuilding - Color in Clay: Thursday Evenings is an eight-week evening workshop (September 24–November 14, 6–9 pm) led by instructor Corinna Cowles that moves surface decoration beyond the basics: slip transfers, colored-clay inlay, sgraffito, slip trailing, and underglaze painting applied to larger coil and slab-built forms. It’s a practical, studio-centered course for makers who have completed an introductory handbuilding class and are ready to scale up both form and color. The class’s primary features are immediate. Wide worktables create room for complex, oversized forms; jars of colored slips and underglazes sit within reach; racks hold drying pieces; and studio kilns turn fragile clay into durable, glazed surfaces. Black Hound supplies 25 pounds of clay per student along with tools, glazes, firings, and one open studio session. That material generosity lets you focus on technique and experimentation without counting every inch of clay. What makes this offering stand out in Philadelphia is its specific emphasis on combining bold form with painterly decoration. Many community studios emphasize small functional wares or wheel-thrown practice; here the curriculum intentionally stresses larger slab and coil constructions whose surfaces become opportunities for layered color, texture, and narrative. Techniques like slip transfer and sgraffito can produce high-contrast, graphic surfaces that still read beautifully under a clear glaze. The neighborhood context amplifies the experience. Located in West Philadelphia, Black Hound Clay Studio West is part of a citywide culture that values hands-on arts education and accessible making. The workbench, the clay dust, and the hum of the kilns feel rooted in craft traditions even as students push toward contemporary aesthetics. Corinna Cowles provides demonstrations, one-on-one coaching, and troubleshooting during each three-hour session, helping you translate bold ideas into stable, glaze-ready pieces. Practical notes: preregistration requires at least one prior introductory handbuilding course; students must be 16 or older. Expect weekly three-hour sessions over eight weeks, committed attention to drying and glazing schedules, and the satisfaction of seeing finished pieces emerge from the firing schedule. Whether your aim is to develop a cohesive series, deepen your surface vocabulary, or tackle ambitious coil and slab forms, this class offers room, materials, and focused instruction to take color in clay seriously in a supportive studio environment. Expect to leave with several glazed pieces, new surface strategies, and a clearer sense of how scale and color work together. If you want to push your handbuilding practice, register early for this focused evening workshop at Black Hound Clay Studio West. Space is limited; bring curiosity, a towel, a sturdy towel, and closed-toe shoes.