Class Schedules
Beginner Wheel Classes
Because our current students get first pick of the classes, there are often only a few spots available of the classes listed below, so please sign up quickly to hold your spot!
Beginner Wheel Classes
Details: 6-week Beginner Wheel Class, all inclusive (use of studio tools, clay, firing, glazing & some additional open studio time*) $250
These new classes will be the same day/time every week for six weeks and Mondays are open studio time* (from 12pm to 8pm) for anyone enrolled in a class. Classes are kept small so space is limited!
- Our Classes for the Summer Session have filled and are currently in progress. Our next round of Beginner Classes will begin at the end of August. Check back at in July for the schedule!
This class is for BEGINNERS (those with little or no experience, or those re-learning the wheel after an extended absence from throwing. No production work or experienced potters will be allowed in this class.
*Open studio (on Mondays) is for PRACTICE only. This is not time for additional instruction or to produce anything new. You may practice the techniques that you learned or finish pieces that you began in class, but you will not be allowed to keep anything new produced during this time.
Intermediate/Advanced Wheel Classes
This program is for potters who have experience and reached the level in which they have the ability to wedge, to center 3-4 lbs of clay, and make a 10 inch cylinder.
Intermediate/Advanced Wheel Program (Adults)
If you have not taken a wheel class at our studio before, you will need to attend an orientation to learn the guidelines of our studio and program. Please contact us at [email protected] to schedule with us.
Details: For this program, you will need to provide your own tools, purchase your clay separately (glaze fee & firing included but some restrictions apply), and manage your own work.
Once you are accepted into the program, you will will be able to sign up for any of the continual offerings of short workshops/classes that will be on either Thursday evenings (6-9pm) or Saturday afternoons (2-5pm). You will also have the opportunity to book a wheel or table space (for open studio wheel throwing, hand-building, glazing) on Tuesdays between 12-8pm.
The schedule for this program is only available to those who are at the intermediate/advanced skill level, have either been trained in our studio or have gone through the orientation, and have agreed to the guidelines of the program, so it is not available to the public. Please contact us at [email protected] with questions or for more information.
Sculpture in Clay: Finding Your Narrative Voice
We’re so excited to be able to offer this new class by Bay Area Artist Suzanne M Long. This six week introductory workshop will teach you about the fundamentals of “hand building” in clay and is open to all skill levels. You will learn the fundamentals of hand-building in clay, along with surface techniques and glazing.
All Skill Levels: Sculpture Class (Hand-Building)
Details:
This six-week workshop is all inclusive (tools, clay, glazing, firing) $250
- Thursdays from 10am to 1pm beginning on August 8th – SOLD OUT
- Sundays from 6pm to 9pm beginning on August 11th
Suzanne Long studied Illustration and Graphic Design and began her career in New York working as a freelance Illustrator and Production Artist. She moved to the Bay Area in 1991 and then transitioned from commercial work to fine art. She has been a sculptor since 1996 and her work has been featured throughout the country in many fine art galleries and juried art shows.
Artist Statement:
My work is about memory, adding a visual narrative to my thoughts. My work is about melancholy and humor, politics and storytelling. Sometimes I don’t know what my work is about, I just have a compulsion to make it. I let my hands lead, other times my mind. I like to work in series, a season of work, making the same piece over and over, like picking out the notes on a piano, practicing. I repeat it again and again until it is a part of me, then I can release the concept, with some understanding of it. My work teaches me who I am, it defines the edges for a time, then my focus changes and my work becomes something else. It answers a question for me; it poses a question to me.
VISIT OUR STORE!
Pottery, art, gifts, jewelry & more!
Store hours:
Sunday 12 – 5
Monday and Tuesday 12 – 6
Wednesday through Saturday 10 – 6
Learn More About Us & Follow Our Progress on Facebook!
Happy Life Pottery & Gallery
632 First Street
Benicia, CA 94510
(707) 742-3411
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We look forward to meeting you!
Happy Life Pottery is a labor of love brought to you by Amy and David Stellato. After leaving his corporate career, David discovered and fell in love with the art of making pottery while living in Austin, Texas, in 2014. Shortly afterwards, this creative outlet served as a source of joy even throughout his most difficult year of battling cancer, and has ultimately inspired him to bring this fun & expressive art form to others!
Now David and Amy begin a new chapter in their lives by bringing this wonderfully creative outlet to beautiful downtown Benicia! We hope you will be inspired with your own passion and enthusiasm for the art of pottery by classes, shopping, or both!