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Sign up for the waitlist at Black Hound Studio’s Wheelthrowing 101 and learn the fundamentals of pottery over eight Sunday evenings with instructor Maggie Jones. Small classes, tools and firing included—take home handmade tableware and new skills.
Sign up for the waitlist at Black Hound Studio’s Wheelthrowing 101 and learn the fundamentals of pottery over eight Sunday evenings with instructor Maggie Jones. Small classes, tools and firing included—take home handmade tableware and new skills.
Book with Black Hound Clay Studio West
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Operated by Black Hound Clay Studio West · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Black Hound Studio sits on a quiet block at 715 South 50th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, offering an intimate eight-week Wheelthrowing 101 course on Sunday evenings. Taught by instructor Maggie Jones, this waitlist program opens the door to the tactile, mediated rhythm of the potter's wheel: centering, pulling, trimming and glazing tableware you can use every day. Each session runs 6–9 pm, and the class size is capped at ten students, creating room for close coaching, individualized feedback, and the slow, deliberate repetition that pottery demands.
Inside the studio you’ll find a row of electric wheels, benches lined with tools, and a kiln that marks the end of your piece’s transformation from soft clay to fired tableware. The course includes instruction, tools, glazes, firing, and 25 pounds of clay—enough material to experiment with bowls, mugs, and plates—plus one free open-studio session to practice between classes. Wheelthrowing 101 is wheelchair accessible, so students with mobility needs can participate in most aspects of the process.
The experience is both craft lesson and creative reset. Beginners leave with a handful of usable pieces and a vocabulary of technique: how to center the clay, trim a foot, coax uniform walls, and apply functional glazes. Beyond technique, the class plugs you into West Philadelphia’s living arts scene—an area with active community studios, gallery nights, and a practical, hands-on approach to making. For visitors, a class at Black Hound Studio is a way to slow down from tourist speed, take home a thing you made yourself, and meet locals who make and sell work in the city.
Practical details matter: this is a waitlist item—signing up does not guarantee a seat, and Black Hound will contact you if a spot opens. The minimum age is 16, and the small group format favors people who want focused coaching over a large workshop vibe. Wear sturdy, easy-to-wash clothes and closed-toe shoes; the studio provides tools and glazes, but bringing a personal apron can help you stay comfortable.
The studio smells faintly of wet clay and glaze, and the measured thump of wheels becomes a reliable background rhythm that helps students find a patient pace. If you have questions before signing up, email [email protected]; the listing notes additional clay can be purchased on their website and each enrollment includes one free open-studio session to practice between classes. Expect small-group instruction that accelerates progress without pressure and community connection.
easy.
3 hours per session (8-week course).
Light physical activity; basic upper-body control and standing/sitting endurance for a three-hour class
Sign up on the booking page; Black Hound will email you if a seat becomes available—joining the waitlist does not guarantee a spot.
Instruction, tools, glazes, firing and 25 pounds of clay are included; one free open-studio session is also included.
Yes—Wheelthrowing 101 is designed for beginners and focuses on core techniques with individualized coaching.
Yes, the listing indicates the studio is wheelchair accessible to participate in most aspects of the class.
The minimum age to enroll is 16.
Yes—additional clay can be purchased through Black Hound Studio’s website as noted on the listing.
Philadelphia has a long civic tradition of craft and neighborhood maker spaces that feed the city’s hands-on arts culture.
Students are encouraged to reclaim clay trimmings and be mindful of glaze waste; bring only what you need and follow studio cleanup protocols to minimize impact.
Black Hound Clay Studio West is a ceramics studio offering a broad schedule of pottery classes, workshops, open studio sessions, summer art camps, and members-only events. The studio presents structured multi-week series such as Wheelthrowing 101 and Wheelthrowing 102, short-format workshops like Make Your Own Holiday Mug and One Day Wheel Workshop, and skill-focused courses including Handbuilt Tableware for Beginners and Intermediate Handbuilding options. Classes emphasize hands-on instruction in wheelthrowing, slab and coil handbuilding, surface decoration, glazing, and functional tableware. Several class listings note small, supportive settings and instructor-led guidance; named instructors appear in class descriptions, including Frankie Iadarola, Corinna Cowles, and Caroline Hayes-Charuk. The studio also runs open studio sessions for students, member-focused demos and refreshers (kiln, glaze, reclaim, slip, extruder), and bookable private workshops. Seasonal programming includes Mid-Summer Open Studio Sessions and Black Hound West Summer Art Camp sessions scheduled for August 2025. Multiple offerings show waitlist status for popular time slots, indicating high demand. Membership-only entries provide additional hands-on opportunities and technical demos. Black Hound Clay Studio West’s program mix supports beginners through intermediate students, offering repeatable class sequences and specialty workshops for makers seeking practical skills, creative play, and finished functional work. The studio lists explicit class names, waitlist entries, and member events to help prospective students find a right-fit experience.
Book with Black Hound Clay Studio West