Why do Rebel Ceramics classes include both hand-building and wheel?

We know how mesmerizing and easy it can seem when watching videos of potters working on the wheel. When looking at our class offerings, you might wonder why we don't offer separate wheel-only classes. The short answer is: we believe learning ceramics means learning to work with clay in more than one way.

Hand-building and wheel throwing are very different processes. Hand-building allows you to pinch, coil, slab, sculpt, alter, texture, and build forms that don't have to be round or symmetrical. The wheel introduces a completely different set of skills—centering, controlling pressure and speed, and learning how clay responds as it moves.

Both are valuable, and each teaches you something the other can't.

At Rebel, our ceramics classes intentionally move between hand-building and wheel work. Students might spend one project learning to throw a cylinder, then use slabs or coils to create something completely different. We want students to experience the range of possibilities that clay offers rather than becoming focused on mastering just one technique.

And there’s another reason: we're more interested in developing ceramic artists and creative problem-solvers than in teaching a particular production method.

Working across techniques encourages experimentation, adaptability, and curiosity. Sometimes the wheel is the right tool for an idea. Sometimes it's your hands, a rolling pin, a texture, a mold—or a combination of all of them.

There isn't one "right" way to make with clay. We want our students to learn enough techniques to discover their way.