Pottery Workshops

Learn Pottery at The Shire Workshops

Are you ready to get your hands dirty and get messy with clay?

At The Shire Workshops, our art studio in the quiet neighbourhood of Wilbarston Village, nestled between Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, we offer a range of 8-week and 1-day courses where you can unwind and be creative.

Some participants come for the social connection, while others fully immerse themselves in the creative process. Join us in whatever way suits you best.

Don’t give up on creativity! We offer evening classes so you can join us after work or after caring for your loved ones — giving yourself some well-deserved me time!

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8-week Pottery Course “Exploring Ceramics”

Course Description

This 8-week course is ideal for beginners of all ages while also catering to more experienced potters!

During this course, you will learn:

• How to throw pots on the pottery wheel
• How to hand-build pots using clay slabs and coils
• Some decorating techniques and glazing

Choose your preferred start day and time, and your workshop will run at the same time each week for 8 weeks. Each slot is taught by a different teacher—learn more about them here!
At the end of the course, you will have your own finished pottery pieces to take home.

Course Fees

£200 for your first course and £160 for subsequent courses.
This includes;

• Tuition for 2 hours x 8 weeks
• Studio use and tools
• Storing your pots until they are fired

What’s not included is;
+ Materials such as clay and glaze
+ Firing costs for any pieces you choose to have fired, calculated by size and weight. Feel free to practise your skills — you don’t have to fire everything you make! A typical-sized mug or bowl is usually £6 – £10.

If the glaze runs off the pottery and requires grinding, we ask for a £5 donation towards grinding the pots and replacing kiln shelves.

*If you don’t see any available future dates, it means booking for that course isn’t open yet.

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8-week Sculpture Course (Pottery Clay)

Course Description

Discover the joy of shaping clay with your own hands. Step away from the everyday and immerse yourself in creativity, texture, and form. This course is completely beginner friendly — no prior skills needed. Whether you’ve never touched clay before or want to build confidence, you’ll be guided every step of the way.

In this 2-hour × 8-week Sculpture Course, we use pottery clay to create a variety of sculptures. Our popular Animal Sculpture course has received great feedback, so we’ve increased the number of classes! Many participants take home a “forever” animal friend at the end of the course.

Join us in our small-group sessions in a relaxed, supportive environment. Our patient and friendly teacher ensures everyone feels comfortable and encouraged. From simple forms to expressive pieces, you’ll develop your skills each week.

During this course, you will learn;

• How to build a wire armature for sculpting
• Modelling: Shaping clay using your fingers and thumbs to create simple, organic forms.
• Coiling: Rolling clay into coils and layering them to build structure and height.
• Slab Building : Rolling out flat sheets of clay to cut, shape, and assemble sculptural forms.
• Joining & Detailing: Learning how to securely attach pieces and adding texture and fine details to bring sculptures to life.
• Finishing and glazing

Course Fees

£200 for your first course and £160 for subsequent courses.
This includes;

• Tuition for 2 hours x 8 weeks
• Studio use and tools
• Storing your pots until they are fired

What’s not included is;
+ Materials such as clay and glaze
+ Firing costs for any pieces you choose to have fired, calculated by size and weight. Feel free to practise your skills — you don’t have to fire everything you make!

If the glaze runs off the pottery and requires grinding, we ask for a £5 donation towards grinding the pots and replacing kiln shelves.

*If you don’t see any available future dates, it means booking for that course isn’t open yet.

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1-full-day Raku Pottery Workshop

What is Raku Pottery?

Raku pottery is a Japanese firing technique that produces unique, one-of-a-kind pieces. Traditional Japanese raku, developed for the tea ceremony, is simple and earthy, while Western raku uses smoke and combustibles to create bold crackles, metallic lusters, and dramatic patterns.

At The Shire Workshops, we will provide opportunities for you to try the following three types of glazing and firing experience. This is usually held on Sundays (Non-regular event), runs from 10:00~16:00.

• Glazed Raku
  A fast, dramatic firing technique where glazed pottery is removed from the kiln while red hot and placed into combustible materials. This creates crackle effects, metallic finishes, and rich surface patterns.
• Saggar Firing
  A decorative firing method where pottery is placed inside a protective container (saggar) with natural materials such as leaves, sawdust, or salts. The smoke and fumes create organic, unpredictable surface markings.
• Naked Raku
  A specialised raku process where a temporary slip coating cracks and peels away after firing, leaving delicate, smoke-created crackle patterns directly on the clay surface.

*This course doesn’t include clay time. You may attend 8-week Pottery Course, book for private tuition to create your own pots and plates, or purchase premade 3 pieces of blank on the day.

Find out when our next Raku workshop days are planned and book!

*If you don’t see any available future dates, it means booking for that course isn’t open yet.

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Hourly Studio Hire

At the Shire Workshops, you may hire the studio space by hourly rate basis. This is suitable for those who already have basic pottery & sculpting skills and doesn’t require the hands on lesson. It’s also ideal for those who want to practice the new skills they have been learning in the classes.  Use the studio as if it were your own!

You can book:

• Workbench time to perfect your hand building techniques or work with glazes and surface decoration
• Pottery wheel time to practice your throwing and turning skills
• Spending more time on your project outside of the workshop or course hours.

We don’t provide hands-on tuition but are happy to offer guidance if needed.

Refund Policy

If you need to cancel a booking we provide a full refund with 30 days’ notice before the event. If less than 30 days, we can provide a refund only if we can find a replacement for your place. If we can’t find a replacement to offer you a refund, we will keep your details and offer you a place on another course/day if it doesn’t fill up within 2 days of the start date. Or, we can give you the amount as a credit/voucher to be used as un-tutored workshop time.

Catchup sessions

The catch-up service is provided as a time-limited gesture of goodwill, subject to availability.

For the 8-week Exploring Ceramics classes, we offer catch-up sessions if you are not able to attend any of your classes. You can use catch-up sessions during the period of your 8-week course through prior arrangements, by booking to join another class where there are absentees. If you still have catch-up sessions outstanding at the end of your 8-week course, you will have a further 8 weeks to use any missed sessions.

If you can only catch up when no classes are running, please be aware that any help will be limited, as staff will be engaged in the necessary day-to-day tasks needed to run the studio.

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* For full Price List, please see here.
* For Terms and Conditions; including payments, refunds, catch-up sessions, use of the studio, and health and safety, please see here.