Introduction to Hand Building with Mary Ann Cincotta

ThePottery at Borrego Springs High School
2281 Diegueno Rd, Borrego Springs, CA 92004
Park on Cahuilla Road, next to the gate to the school’s athletic field.
ThePottery is located under the big blue canopy,across the street from the Day Care Center.
The gate is locked so please contact the instructor to be let in.

10 a.m. – 1 p.m. 

Member: $300
Non-member $330

Includes two Open Studio days January 16 and 20 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Have you wondered how potters turn lumps of clay into useful objects without using a potter’s wheel? Using several projects (mugs, boxes, bowls) this class will introduce you to the basics of forming, glazing, and firing clay using your hands and some simple tools.

· Mug: pinch, coil, paddle, wedging, properties of clay, storage

· Slab built mug: rolling, texture, using a template, joining, handles, clean-up of leather hard work

· Soft slab box with lid: rolling, texture, using a template, joining, galleries, feet

· Bowl: rolling, texture, using a hump mold, feet, joining, clean up of leather hard work

· Basic glazing.

Requirements: Wear old clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty, or bring an apron or smock. Bring water and snacks, a hat, and sunscreen as we’ll be working outdoors.

Mary Ann Cincotta started making pots at evening classes at the University of Minnesota in the early 1980s. Life got in the way, but fortunately, in 2010, her friend Sue Boutwell convinced her to take a tile-making class with Ginger Dunlap-Dietz, founder of ThePottery. That spring, Mary Ann went back to Washington and set up a small pottery corner in her husband’s glass studio. Currently, she’s taking up about a third of the building, and is hungry for more.

Min: 4, Max: 10