Workshops & Art

Pottery Workshop in Marikina? Try Hand-Building With Air-Dry Clay

Searching for a pottery workshop in Marikina? Here is the honest difference between wheel pottery and air-dry clay, and what you can make without a kiln.

"Pottery workshop Marikina" is one of the most searched workshop phrases for the city, so let us be clear about what we are and are not.

Wheel pottery vs air-dry clay

• Wheel pottery uses a spinning wheel, stoneware clay, glazes and a kiln that fires at very high heat. The result is waterproof and food-safe. The pottery studios people usually recommend for this are in Quezon City and Makati, a ride away from Marikina.
• Air-dry clay needs no wheel and no kiln. You shape it by hand, leave it to dry for a day or two, then paint and seal it. It is not for food or water, but it is perfect for trinket dishes, ornaments, magnets, incense holders and small figures.

We work with air-dry clay. We do not have a wheel or a kiln, and we will not pretend otherwise.

Why start with hand-building

• It teaches the same basics: pinching, coiling, slab building, joining.
• Nothing can explode in a kiln.
• You can keep practising at home with a pack of clay and a butter knife.
• It is far cheaper than a wheel class, so you can find out if you like clay first.

What you can make in one session

1. A pinch-pot trinket dish for rings or coins.
2. A slab coaster with pressed leaf or lace texture.
3. A small figure: a cat, a mushroom, a tiny shoe for the shoe capital.
4. Beads or charms to paint later.

Good to know

Pieces need at least a day to dry before painting. Thick pieces crack if they dry too fast. Our guide to air-dry clay without cracks covers that.

If you would like a hand-building session in Marikina, send an inquiry. If your heart is set on the wheel, go and take that class too. Clay people are generous, and one kind of clay leads to the other.