For Students
Learn The Craft Of Clay
Ten guided sessions. Twelve weeks of studio continuity. Generous practice time outside class—without rationed practice windows. Firebox gives you the instruction and access to build a real studio practice.
More Than Class Time
What Firebox Tuition Includes
A Firebox semester is designed to give you enough instruction, time, and access to build a real studio practice—not just finish a weekly assignment.
Ten Guided Sessions
Ten approximately 2.5-hour classes with an instructor, organized into a coherent progression from making through finishing.
Twelve Weeks Of Continuity
Your semester runs for twelve weeks, including a schedule-adjustment week and a final wrap-up week for finishing, pickup, and community.
Generous Practice Access
Practice outside class during student access hours whenever Studio A is available—without choosing from a small allotment of fixed practice sessions.
Studio Equipment
Use Firebox wheels, worktables, and slab rollers during class and eligible independent practice time.
Glazes & Personal Storage
Use the studio's standard glaze palette and keep works in progress on your own student shelf for the semester.
Firing Allowance
Bisque and glaze firing for up to 20 lbs (bisqueware) of student work is included. Additional firing is available at the studio's standard rate.
Purchased separately: clay from Firebox studio stock and your own basic tools or a Firebox starter kit. Independent access is subject to studio hours, available space, orientation, and the safety requirements appropriate to each course level.
Twelve-Week Semesters
Foundations
Semester-length courses for students learning ceramics for the first time and for students building on prior experience. Each semester includes ten instructional sessions, one wrap-up week, and one spare week for holidays or schedule adjustments. Sessions run approximately 2.5 hours.
Foundations 1
No prior experience requiredWheel Throwing
Learn to throw on the potter's wheel. This course covers centering, opening, pulling walls, shaping, trimming, surface treatment, glazing, and kiln firing — the complete process from a lump of clay to a finished pot.
The first half of the semester focuses on forming skills. The second half introduces trimming, surface, and glaze as your work moves through bisque firing. You'll finish the semester with completed functional pieces.
Handbuilding & Sculptural Techniques
An introduction to working with clay by hand. Students learn pinch, coil, slab, and additive construction methods, along with joining, structural integrity, surface treatment, and how to think about form without a wheel.
Work can range from functional to decorative — vessels, planters, lidded containers, tiles, figurative objects, and sculptural forms. The course covers the full process through glazing and firing.
Mixed Methods
A flexible introduction for students who want to explore both wheel throwing and handbuilding, or who aren't sure which direction to go. The same foundational material is covered, with instructor guidance tailored to individual interests.
This is also a good option if other Foundations 1 sections don't fit your schedule.
Foundations 2
Prior wheel experienceWheel Throwing
For students who have taken a beginner wheel class — here or elsewhere — and want to develop their work beyond basic cylinders. The course covers shaping with intention, trimming as a design decision, pulled handles, lids, galleries, and more developed surface and glaze techniques including sgraffito, wax resist, and layered glazes.
The instructor still covers centering, but the pace assumes you've been on a wheel before. Most class time is spent on what happens after the clay is open.
Six-Week Intensives
Focused Work
Short courses built around a specific form, technique, or project. Topics rotate each term. Five instructional sessions plus one spare week. Sessions run approximately 2.5 hours.
Wheel Intensive
A focused course built around a specific wheel-throwing objective. Example topics include making a matched set of cups, throwing bowls, or centering progressively larger amounts of clay.
Mixed Methods Intensive
A focused course combining wheel and handbuilding techniques around a specific project. Example topics include coiled pots, slab work and templates, or constructed forms like teapots.
Students purchase clay from studio stock and provide their own tools. Firing and glaze materials are not included in intensive tuition. Students who wish to have work fired may do so through the studio's standard firing fee schedule.
Where To Start
Not sure which class is right for you? Here's a simple guide.
Never Touched Clay
Start with any Foundations 1 course. Wheel Throwing, Handbuilding, and Mixed Methods are all designed for complete beginners.
Taken A Class Before
Foundations 2: Wheel Throwing picks up where a beginner wheel class left off. If your experience is primarily in handbuilding, a Foundations 1 section or a Mixed Methods Intensive may be the best fit.
Want Something Shorter
Six-week intensives are focused courses for students who want to work on a specific skill or project. Some topics are suitable for beginners; others assume prior experience.
Want To Keep Going
Students who complete a Firebox semester may apply for studio membership. Additional course levels are in development for 2027.
Path To Membership
Learn Here. Keep Working Here.
Students who complete a Firebox semester may apply for studio membership. Membership readiness includes the ability to work safely, cleanly, and independently in the studio.