How to Improve Your Pottery Skills Through Practice
Every six-week course at Throw Clay LA includes practice time outside of class. Our instructors introduce new techniques, demonstrate how to use them, and help students develop their skills. But learning something in class and being able to do it consistently on your own are two different things.
That's where practice comes in.
Whether you're learning to center clay in Potter's Wheel Basics, refining your forms in The Cup: Design & Refine, or developing construction techniques in Sculpting with Coils, one of the best ways to improve your pottery skills is to practice between classes.
And practice doesn't always mean making finished pottery. Sometimes spending an hour throwing cylinders, experimenting with different forms, or cutting a pot in half to examine its walls is more valuable than producing another piece for the kiln.
How Often Should You Practice to Improve Your Pottery Skills?
If you're taking a weekly pottery course, try to schedule at least one additional practice session between classes. An hour or two gives you time to repeat techniques, work through problems, and become more comfortable with the material.
As your skills develop, you may want to practice more frequently or concentrate on particular techniques. The important thing is to practice with a purpose.
A few things to keep in mind:
Practice regularly. One additional session each week can make a noticeable difference over the course of six weeks.
Focus on one skill at a time. Repeating a technique helps you recognize what works and what needs adjustment.
Don't worry about keeping everything. Some of the most useful practice pieces never make it to the kiln.
Pay attention to your progress. Take photographs, make notes, or compare your results from one session to the next.
And don't overlook the value of practicing with other potters. Working alongside another student or studio member can turn an ordinary practice session into an opportunity to compare techniques, exchange ideas, and challenge each other.
Here are six pottery practice challenges to try, whether you're taking your first course or working on more advanced skills.
1. The Five-Cylinder Challenge
Practice time: 45–60 minutes
Skills: Centering, pulling walls, consistency
Start with five equal balls of clay, approximately two pounds each. Throw five cylinders, aiming for the same height, diameter, and wall thickness.
Resist the temptation to turn them into something else. The goal is repetition.
Line up your cylinders when you're finished. Are they the same height? Are the walls equally thick? Did you find the fifth one easier to throw than the first?
Try it with a friend: Each of you throws five cylinders. Compare your results and talk about which techniques worked best. You might discover that you approach the same problem differently.
Build on this skill: Potter's Wheel Basics introduces the fundamentals of centering and pulling walls. The Cup: Design & Refine builds on those skills, emphasizing consistency and control.
2. Copy That Pot
Practice time: 45–60 minutes
Skills: Observation, proportion, shaping
Choose a simple form, such as a bowl, cup, or vase. Study its proportions before you begin. How wide is the base? Where does the form begin to curve? How does the rim relate to the rest of the piece?
Now try to reproduce it.
You can use measurements, but also pay attention to the overall shape. Small differences in proportion can change the character of a pot considerably.
Try it with a friend: Each person makes a form, then challenges the other to reproduce it. Compare the results and discuss which parts were most difficult to match.
Build on this skill: The Cup: Design & Refine develops consistency and intentional design. Vases & Bottles explores more complex forms and proportions.
3. How Tall Can You Go?
Practice time: 30–45 minutes
Skills: Centering, pulling, clay control
Start with two pounds of clay and throw the tallest cylinder you can while maintaining even walls and a stable base.
Measure its height, then reclaim the clay and try again.
On your second attempt, concentrate on one adjustment. Perhaps you're using too much water, pulling too quickly, or leaving too much clay at the base.
Can you improve your result without adding more clay?
This exercise isn't about making the tallest pot in the studio. It's about understanding how your technique affects the height and stability of your forms.
Try it with a friend: Use the same weight of clay and compare results. Discuss what helped you gain height and where you encountered difficulties.
Build on this skill: Potter's Wheel Basics establishes the fundamentals. Wheel Development and Throwing Big help students build greater control as they work with increasingly challenging forms.
4. Cut It in Half
Throw Clay LA owner John Prescott examines the construction of a thrown form during an eight-day workshop with ceramic artist Danny Meisinger in Kansas. Even experienced potters continue learning and refining their skills.
Practice time: 30–45 minutes
Skills: Wall thickness, compression, construction
This might be one of the most revealing exercises you can do on the potter's wheel.
Throw a cylinder or bowl, then carefully cut it vertically in half with a wire.
Look at the cross-section.
Is the base too thick? Are the walls even? Is there excess clay where the wall meets the floor? Did you compress the bottom adequately?
Now make another pot, concentrating on what you observed.
You can use a similar approach with handbuilt forms. Make a small pinch or coil pot and cut it open to examine the thickness of the walls and the quality of the joins.
Try it with a friend: Examine each other's pieces and compare observations. Sometimes another potter will notice something you missed.
Build on this skill: Potter's Wheel Basics, Pinch, Slab, Sculpt!, and Sculpting with Coils all introduce construction techniques that benefit from this kind of examination.
5. One Shape, Three Ways
Practice time: 60–90 minutes
Skills: Handbuilding, construction, form
Choose a simple form, such as a small bowl or cup, and make it using three different handbuilding methods: pinch, coil, and slab.
Keep the general dimensions similar, but allow each technique to influence the finished form.
Which method gives you the most control? Which creates the strongest structure? Which allows you to develop the most interesting shape?
Pay attention to wall thickness, joins, and how you manage moisture as you work.
Try it with a friend: Each person starts with the same design but chooses a different construction method. Compare the results and discuss the advantages and limitations of each technique.
Build on this skill: Pinch, Slab, Sculpt! introduces fundamental handbuilding methods. Sculpting with Coils and Design in Handbuilding offer opportunities to develop more complex forms and construction skills.
6. The Surface Design Swap
Practice time: 45–60 minutes
Skills: Texture, decoration, experimentation
Make several small test tiles or simple forms and experiment with different surface design techniques.
Try carving, stamping, impressing textures, or applying slip decoration. Rather than concentrating on a finished piece, explore how each technique changes the surface.
What happens when you repeat a pattern? How does the depth of a carved line affect the design? What kinds of marks work best on clay at different stages of drying?
Keep notes about the techniques and materials you use so you can refer to your results later.
Try it with a friend: Each person chooses a technique to demonstrate to the other. Then exchange ideas and create a few test pieces incorporating what you've learned.
Build on this skill: Surface Design explores decorative techniques and their application to ceramic forms. Design in Handbuilding also encourages students to consider how construction and surface treatment work together.
Make Practice a Community Activity
One of the advantages of working in a shared pottery studio is having other potters around you.
Someone at the next wheel might have a different way of pulling a wall. A member working at the handbuilding table might introduce you to a tool you've never used. Sometimes a conversation about a stubborn problem turns into an impromptu demonstration.
You don't need to organize a formal challenge. Invite someone to try an exercise with you, compare results, or spend an afternoon working on the same technique.
And remember, the person practicing alongside you doesn't have to be at the same skill level. Experienced potters benefit from revisiting fundamentals, and newer students often bring fresh ideas and questions.
Practice, Learn, Repeat
Pottery skills develop over time. Some techniques begin to feel natural after a few sessions. Others require weeks or months of repetition before you can perform them consistently.
Our six-week courses provide structured instruction, feedback, and opportunities to develop new techniques. Practice time between classes allows students to reinforce those lessons and work independently on the skills they're learning.
As your abilities grow, continuing courses introduce new challenges and help you refine your work. And for those who want regular access to the studio, membership provides a place to keep practicing, experimenting, and learning alongside a community of potters.
Whether you're working toward your first successful cylinder or trying to throw a matching set of cups, the next step is often the same: make another one.
Explore our Build Skills and Refine & Explore courses in the Throw Clay LA Course Catalog, and find your next challenge.
About Throw Clay LA
Whether you’re curious to try pottery for the first time or ready to develop your skills, Throw Clay LA offers one-time pottery experiences, six-week Build Skills courses, and six-week Refine & Explore courses in wheel throwing and handbuilding at our studio in Downtown Los Angeles.
We also offer pottery workshops and private pottery events for groups, while studio memberships provide experienced potters with dedicated space and time to pursue their own work, along with access to studio equipment, glazes, firing services and free weekly Member Clinics.
