Pottery Classes

Vicki’s Pottery Classes Group on Facebook

If you have already taken a pottery class at the Margo Fournier Arts Centre, please join our Facebook group, Vicki’s Pottery Classes Group (link below).

Everyone shares pictures of the pots we’ve made in class, students can ask me questions outside of class time (and I respond as soon as I see the post) and other students answer your questions right away. It’s a great space for sharing, learning, and teaching and I encourage you to sign up (even if you haven’t taken a class yet, let me know if you heard about the group from my website).

Mostly Mugs with Vicki

This class is for beginners and advanced potters. We start the first week with hand-building mugs using slabs of clay and spend the rest of the classes learning to throw mugs on the potter’s wheel. There’s also time to learn how to glaze your mugs in the last couple of classes. Do not be intimidated by making mugs. With a few tips and tricks, you will have a new coffee mug by the end of the course. We learn how to make functional mug bodies and then how to make and attach handles using a few different methods. This is a fun, learn at your own pace class where you will make some mugs that you can take home to use in your kitchen. If you make a lot of mugs, you might even have some you can give away as a very special gift. This class is scheduled for June 22, 2023 for 4 weeks. Registration is open now, but there are limited spaces available.

To Register for Mostly Mugs, click the Register Here button below.

Hand Crafted Dinnerware

This class is for beginners and advanced potters. We will spend each week on a component of the dinnerware set: bowls, mugs and cups, plates and serving dishes. We will learn about design considerations for your dinnerware, surface decoration, making multiples, and setting up a flow for your work. Initially we will be hand-building, but if you have wheel experience we can work there too.

This class is scheduled for July 7-Aug 11, 2022. Registration is open now, but there are limited spaces available.

To Register for Hand Crafted Dinnerware, click the Register Here button below.

Mostly Mugs

This class is for beginners and advanced potters. We start the first week with hand-building mugs using slabs of clay and spend the rest of the classes learning to throw mugs on the potter’s wheel. There’s also time to learn how to glaze your mugs in the last couple of classes. Do not be intimidated by making mugs. With a few tips and tricks, you will have a new coffee mug by the end of the course. We learn how to make functional mug bodies and then how to make and attach handles using a few different methods. This is a fun, learn at your own pace class where you will make some mugs that you can take home as use in your kitchen. If you make a lot of mugs, you might even have some you can give away as a very special gift.

The next Mostly Mugs class is scheduled for March 3-31, 2022. Registration is open now.

To Register for Mostly Mugs, click the Register Here button below.

Step by Step: Making a Bowl

New to the Arts Centre, the Step by Step classes are one-time visits where you can come and complete a project, start to finish in a single class! This week Vicki will walk you through how to make and decorate a hand-built bowl. Perfect for beginners to clay, or if you're just looking for a relaxed evening out! You will leave your creations here and we will take care of the glazing and firing. Finished pieces will be ready for pickup approx. 2 weeks after the program.

This Making a Bowl class is scheduled for Tuesday March 8, 2022 and the cost is only $45. Registration is open now.

To register for this Step by Step: Making a Bowl class click the button below.

Mini Pottery Intensive

Learn to take your pottery to the next level while also working with 4 professional potters who are all from Prince Albert: Vicki Gauthier, Birgit Raduenz, Carrie Ikert and Belinda Bratvold. Each potter will talk a little about their practice as well as do a demonstration of a particular skill or technique they use in their work. Learn, network, and explore what the world of pottery has to offer. This class is meant for potters with some previous experience.

My session is from 6pm to 9pm on Monday July 26, 2021. This class, Refining Your Mugs, will feature demonstrations, discussions about what a great mug looks like and some ideas of how to make your mugs better. In this session I will show how to throw different shapes, throwing with a sponge, how to refine the mug rims, using ribs to clean the mug surface, using tools to create surface marks and lines, using handmade templates to create feet on your mugs, efficient throwing to reduce trimming, extruding mug handles, pulling mug handles, using stamps for decoration, and tips for finishing your mugs to get ready for glazing.

This summer Mini Pottery Intensive course is scheduled from Monday July 26 - Thursday July 29, 2021 and the cost is only $100. Registration is open now.

To register for this Mini Pottery Intensive click the button below.

Beginner Wheel

If you have always wanted to learn to make pottery on the wheel, this class is for you. We begin with the basics of centering clay on the wheel, learning to make small cylinders, and then practicing to make those cylinders bigger and wider. If you want to make your own bowls, mugs, succulent pots, or dinner plates then this is the class for you. We will cover any form you like and I know you will enjoy this creative process.

The next Beginner Wheel class will be scheduled for the Fall of 2021. I will post here when registration is available.

To see what classes are available now, click the button below for the Art Centre’s Program Guide.

Glazing with Vicki

In this 3-hour glazing class we will learn what we need to prepare our pots for glazing: why it’s important to wipe bisque pieces, how to wax the bottoms of pots, mixing the buckets of glaze for best application, dipping or pouring glazes onto pots and wiping the bottoms free of drippy glaze. We will also discuss glaze choices and options; it’s not just about the colour!

The next Glazing with Vicki class will be scheduled for the Fall of 2021. I will post here when registration is available.

To see what classes are available now, click the button below for the Art Centre’s Program Guide.

Virtual Hand-building Mugs

This is a 2-hour virtual pottery class which means you join from your house, I join from my pottery studio and I teach the class via a Zoom meeting! Once you have registered, just stop by the Arts Centre to pick up your Hand-building Mugs kit. The kit includes enough clay for 2 small mugs with handles, some tools you’ll need for the project, a rolling pin, and some decorating objects. This is a great way to get creative at home, enjoy a glass of wine while you create, and make 2 mugs!

Virtual Hand-building classes may be scheduled for the Fall of 2021. I will post here if registration is available.

To see what classes are available now, click the button below for the Art Centre’s Program Guide.