Our full list of classes and workshops starting in November is now available on our website!

Pottery Wheel Classes:

Pottery Wheel for All-Level Beginners - Sunday Afternoons Starting November 9

Pottery Wheel for All-Level Beginners - Tuesday Evenings Starting November 11

Clay Club - Thursday Evenings Starting November 13

Handbuilding and Decorating Classes:

Introduction to Handbuilding - Sunday Evenings Starting November 9

Christmas Gift Edition: Stoneware Bead Jewelry Making - Saturday Evenings Starting November 29

Workshops:

Turkeys for Kids (Ages 8+) - November 1 and 15

House Tea Dispenser (Ages 14+) - November 1 and 15

Handbuilt Nativity Set (Ages 14+*) - November 5

Handbuilt Poinsettia Pot (Ages 14+*) - November 7 and 21

Terrarium Plaques for Kids! (Ages 7-100) - November 8 and 22

Charcuterie Board (Ages 14+) - November 9 and 30

Handbuilt Poinsettia Pot (Ages 14+*) - November 15 and 29

Woven Trivets (Ages 14+) - November 16 and December 7

Botanical Handbuilt Soap Dishes and Handmade Soap (Ages 14+*) - November 22

South Pole Penguins (Ages 8+) - November 23 and December 14

Hot Chocolate Mugs (Ages 14+) - November 29 and December 20

December classes will start being posted soon, so keep an eye on our website for all the details!

Check out our slate of classes starting this month!

Pottery Wheel Classes:

Pottery Wheel for All-Level Beginners - Saturday Afternoons Starting October 4

Clay Club - Thursday Evenings Starting October 9

All-Level Pottery Wheel: Beginner to Advanced - Wednesday Evenings Starting October 22

All-Level Pottery Wheel: Beginner to Advanced - Monday Evenings Starting October 27

Handbuilding Classes:

Vases with Faces - Friday Evenings October 10 and 24

Handbuilding for Kids (Ages 7-12) - Saturday Mornings Starting October 11

Kid and Adult Workshops:

Leaf Bowl (Ages 14+*) - Sunday Afternoons October 5 and 19

Magical Wind Chimes (Ages 7-100) - Sunday Afternoons October 12, 26, and November 2

And for more information or to see when new classes and workshops are posted, check out our website!

Come celebrate our 1st birthday with us!

Come celebrate our 1st birthday!

Come see our clay!

• Handbuilding demonstrations

• Pottery wheel demonstrations

Come see our studio!

• Glazing process

• Firing in our kiln room

Make your own wildflower seed ball!

• Sun or shade

• Deer-resistant mix

• Just add water to grow wildflowers wherever you want them

Light refreshments will be provided.

Join us between 12 noon and 3 pm on Saturday, April 19 at 123 W. Frederick St., behind the Post Office.

Open Houses — Staunton Clayground clay & pottery studio in Staunton Virginia offering classes and memberships

www.stauntonclayground.com/open-houses

Hello, dear Friends of the Staunton Clayground!

We are so excited to announce that in April we will be offering two workshops we have never offered before! Plus, we are kicking off springtime with two family-friendly co-workshops hosted by Staunton Parks & Rec! Read on to learn more!

Where to start? Come join Mary Tuttle for a fun and magical journey through jewelry land! No prior clay experience necessary!

What better way to find that perfect piece of jewelry than to make it yourself?

In Jewelry Making With Handmade Stoneware Beads! Tuesday evenings: April 22 & 29 from 6:00–7:30 pm and May 6 from 6:00–8:00 pm (5 hours total), you’ll learn to make your own stoneware beads out of clay, as well as how to glaze them. You will also learn basic wire wrapping to put them together, in order to make at least one pair of earrings and one necklace (just in time for Mother’s Day). We will provide all tools and materials. You just bring your creativity and any photographs after which you would like to style your jewelry.

Jewelry making will not be limited to women’s jewelry!

Next up, come join creature-creator extraordinaire, Abby Kiracofe, for a one-day adventure in handbuilding!

Who doesn’t need a friendly clay companion or two?

In Creature Crafting – A One-Day Handbuilding Workshop In April 2025, over the course of three very fun hours, you will learn how to make two different types of clay creatures, using the pinch-pot method and by sculpting. Choose a glaze color from several options and pick up your glazed and fired creatures 1-2 weeks later. Absolute beginners welcome are welcome, and you can choose from 1 of 3 workshop times: Sunday afternoon, April 13, 3:00–6:00 pm, Wednesday morning, April 16, 9:30 am–12:30 pm. Thursday evening, April 17, 5:30–8:30 pm.

We are also very happy to be kicking off a series of collaborations with Staunton Parks & Recreation! These will be taking place at the Gypsy Hill Park Garden Center and are family-friendly! Come with a friend or bring your kids along! These workshops are for people age 12+, but ages 6+ are welcome if working side-by-side with an adult participant.

The first, taking place on March 18 from 4:30–6:30, is Paint Your Own Plant Pot! What better way to welcome spring than by painting a brand new plant pot, handmade for you by us here at Staunton Clayground? Click the link above to visit the Parks & Rec website and register by March 12 to claim your spot!

Next up, on April 15 from 4:30–6:00, is Spring Window Accents! Come paint three colorful seasonal window accents, handmade for you at Staunton Clayground. Choose from a variety of shapes including flowers, bunnies and Easter eggs. We will provide all materials, including ribbons, so that you can take your handmade window accent home to hang the same day. Register by April 8 on the Parks & Rec website by April 8 by clicking the link above! Plus, don’t forget to check out all of the other wonderful activities they offer!

There will be even more fun coming in May and June, so keep watching this space for news 😃 

Wishing you much happy claytime!

Hello, Friends of the Staunton Clayground!

The season of new growth and renewal is just around the corner, which means it’s time to get little hands busy celebrating springtime by creating! We’ve got two different kids’ workshops planned to do just that.

Join instructor Brooke Fawley to celebrate the return of brighter days and the first flowers popping up by making a blossom-shaped tea-light holder out of clay! Terrific Tea Lights is A One-Day Kids’ Workshop for ages 7 to 12, taking place on a Saturday morning from 10:00–11:30 a.m., on March 29, 2025.

Pick-up in time for Easter, not to mention Mother’s Day!

Making this flower-like vessel will teach attendees the basics of handbuilding using clay, plus they are a lot of fun! Brooke will help students to pick a glaze color that compliments their pieces, and they will come back on Saturday, April 12, to pick up their finished, fired tea-light holders, well in time for Easter and for Mother’s Day! Make Mom a gift that will brighten not only her day, but her every evening!

Then, in April, kids can join us for another Kids’ Workshop! A Teacup for Mom: A Three-Hour Mother’s Day Workshop In Two Parts (Ages 8–12) – Saturday afternoons, 1:00–2:30 pm, April 12 & 26, 2025.

Tea? Coffee? Whatever Mom wants to put in it, it will be sure to be flavored with love!

Kids will have a chance to make a handmade gift from the heart, as well as a great chance to learn and build on foundational skills for crafting functional handbuilt pottery. In the first session, instructor Brooke Fawley will teach attendees how to build a teacup by hand out of clay. During the second session, kids will get to paint their teacups with underglazes, adding designs of their choosing. Pickup at 1:00 pm on Saturday, May 3… in time for Mother’s Day! What better way to tell Mom you appreciate her than by “treating” her to a nice cup of tea?

What’s going on for grown-ups, you ask? Well, we have quite a few wheel throwing and handbuilding classes and workshops starting over the next several weeks. In fact, you could still join us for our very next class, starting this coming week: Foundational Pottery Wheel For All Levels – Beginner and Up: Mastering And Building On Basic Skills: Tuesday evenings, 5:00–7:15, March 11–April 29, 2025. 

Grown-ups need playtime, too!

Come join instructor Valya Boutenko to learn the foundational skills you need to throw functional pottery on the wheel! Students will gain confidence while  centering clay and throwing basic forms such as cylinders, cups and bowls. The class will focus on mastering the simple throwing and trimming techniques you need to begin creating your own work on your own, and will cover pulling handles for mugs as well as glazing techniques.

First-time beginners are welcome!

Not the right time/day for you? Check out the comprehensive list of our upcoming classes and workshops to see them all and find your perfect fit!

We have so many great things in the works. Look out for a new newsletter with even more fun to be had, coming very soon!

We can’t wait for you to come clay with us! 😃 

Hello, dear Friends of the Staunton Clayground!

March 20 will be the first day of spring! 😍 Are you ready? We sure are, and we are ready to celebrate its arrival with a host of new, fun offerings!

Starting on March 19 we are launching two new one-day handbuilding workshops and another one in April that lasts four-weeks!

No prior clay experience required to build this lovely teapot!

The first is Handbuild a Teapot – A One-Day Workshop in March 2025! Creating a teapot using a pottery wheel is reserved for the seasoned potter with lots of experience. Using hand building techniques, however, even a beginner can create a teapot to be proud of! You will choose a glaze color from several options and pick up your glazed and fired teapot 1-2 weeks later.

Choose from three different day/time options: Wednesday morning, March 19, 9:00–12:00 noon; Thursday evening, March 20, 5:30–8:30; and Sunday afternoon, March 23, 2:30–5:30.

Yes, you can build these in one day, even if you’ve never played with clay before!

The second is Handbuild A Set Of Mugs – A One-Day Workshop In March 2025. As with a teapot, creating mugs using a pottery wheel takes practice and experience. Using hand building techniques, however, even a beginner can create a mug that is destined to be a favorite! Choose from two different designs, then choose a glaze color from several options and pick up your glazed and fired mugs 1-2 weeks later.

Choose from three different day/time options: Wednesday morning, March 26, 9:00–12:00 noon; Thursday evening, March 27, 5:30–8:30; and Sunday afternoon, March 30, 2:30–5:30.

Looking to dive a little deeper than a one-day workshop will allow? Then look no further than the third offering, a longer workshop coming in early April…

Absolute beginners are absolutely welcome!

Have you ever wished your kitchen ceramics pieces matched each other? Or even better, that they were customized to your kitchen’s colors? Now’s your chance!

In Handbuild A Kitchen Suite – A Four-Part Workshop: Thursday evenings, 5:30–8:30 pm, April 3–24, 2025, over the course of four 3-hour sessions we will create several unique functional pieces using wet and dry slab building techniques. Projects include a butter dish, utensil caddy/wine chiller, sponge holder and napkin holder, (all food, microwave and dishwasher safe). Design templates revolve around nature themes, such as flowers, mountains and clouds, but students are encouraged to personalize their pieces to fit their own kitchen aesthetics.

There is so much more already posted on our Classes, Courses and Workshops page for the month of April! We have new kids’ workshops starting in late March (think Mother’s Day!) and a jewelry and bead-making class, but more about those in our next newsletter!

We’ll be also scheduling more one-day handbuilding workshops for April and May soon, too, so keep watching this space!

Meanwhile, enjoy the sunshine and come to see us soon at the Staunton Clayground! Let’s clay!

Hello, dear Friends of the Staunton Clayground!

Here we were thinking we’d seen the last of the snow, and here it is, back again, giving us more reasons to find fun indoor activities for this weekend… and the Staunton Clayground is here to oblige!

Are the kids getting antsy staying inside today? Well, bring them to the Book Dragon Bookshop in downtown Staunton between 1:00–2:30 this afternoon! Our super art and pottery teacher Brooke Fawley will be there helping kids ages 5+ to paint a handmade pottery heart while listening to Book Dragon owner, Sandi, read a story! Activity lasts half an hour, with three seatings (one starting every 30 minutes from 1:00 on). Sign up in advance here! Browse the shop’s marvelously curated selection of literature of all sorts while the kiddos have fun!

Don’t have time to sign-up in advance? No worries! Staunton Clayground Manager, Jennifer Delare (yours truly) will be there to take on-the-spot payments.

Kids aren’t the only ones getting tired of being stuck inside, though. We grown-ups need something fun and different, too! As soon as tomorrow? What? Well, we’ve got you covered for that, too! Join instructor Valya Boutenko for an eight-week course to learn all of the basics of throwing on the pottery wheel or improve your skills. Pottery Wheel For All-Level Beginners will run on Sunday afternoons, 3:00–5:15 pm, February 9–March 30, and there is still time to sign up for our remaining spots! Come join in the fun!

Meanwhile, if you prefer to plan a little further out, we’ve just posted our wheel classes that will be starting in March and April. We have three coming up!

The first is Foundational Pottery Wheel For All Levels – Beginner and Up: Mastering And Building On Basic Skills. This class will run on Tuesday evenings, from 5:00–7:15, March 11–April 29, 2025.

Over the course of 8 weeks, Valya Boutenko will help you to learn the foundational skills you need to throw functional pottery on the wheel. Students will gain confidence while  centering clay and throwing basic forms such as cylinders, cups and bowls. The class will focus on mastering the simple throwing and trimming techniques you need to begin creating your own work on your own, and will cover pulling handles for mugs as well as glazing techniques.

First-time beginners are welcome!

The same is true of our next two wheel classes, All-Level Pottery Wheel – Beginner and Up: Saturday afternoons, March 29–May 3, 3:00–5:00 pm, and All-Level Pottery Wheel – Beginner and Up: Wednesday evenings, April 2–May 7, 6:00–8:00 pm both taught by Mary Tuttle.

Have you always wanted to try your hand at throwing pottery on the wheel and never had a chance? Have you spent some time on the wheel but want an opportunity to gain confidence and hone your skills? Over the course of six 2-hour sessions, students will focus on setting achievable goals and making them into a reality!

The newest potters will learn the basics of making classic vessels like cups and bowls. Those with some experience will focus on gaining confidence with the important skills of centering, pulling up the walls, creating consistent cylinders and more. Students who are already able to create simple wares on their own will instead concentrate on design and consistency, deciding with the teacher what challenges they wish to take on. We’ll also look at trimming and decoration, as well as how to add handles to our creations.

Looking for handbuilding classes and workshops starting in March and April? Ideas for Mother’s Day? Never fear, we have those planned to, some for kids and some for adults! Keep an eye on your inbox, because news about those will be coming soon!

Meanwhile, stay safe and warm! We hope to see you soon for some cozy claytime!

Calling all fans of Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series! Join us for a pop-up event on Tuesday morning, January 21, from 9–11 am at 102 W Beverley Street in downtown Staunton for the Book Dragon bookshop’s release party for the long-awaited next installment, Onyx Storm! We will be there with… dragons!

Which of our dragons will bond to you?

That’s right. Come and paint your very own dragon alongside fellow fans. We’re sure we have one in our riot who wants to bond with you!

These stoneware dragons are handmade for you at the Staunton Clayground and pre-fired, so that you can paint them with acrylics and take them home the same day!

Ticket price: $12 for your first dragon, $8 for each additional dragon you wish to paint. Purchase in advance or on site during the event.

See you there, Riders!!

Hello, dear Friends of the Staunton Clayground!

We hope that your New Year has gotten off to a fantastic start! Our 2025 pottery classes for grown-ups are up and running, despite a couple of snow delays, and we are so happy to be back with our hands in clay. What we’re realllllyyyyyy excited about right now, though, are our kids’ workshops! The first round of 2025 classes for young creators of various ages is ready to go, so read on to find out more!

Let’s start with monsters (and really, if there are monsters involved, where else would you start?). We have two different workshops, one for kids ages 6–11, and the other for young creators ages 12–16, both taught by that incomparable creator of monsters, our very own Brooke Fawley!

Don’t worry, they’re the friendly sort ;-)

Marvelous Monsters! is a two-hour workshop in two parts, for kids ages 6–11, to be held on Saturday mornings, February 15 & March 1, from 10:30–11:30 am.

Make your very own marvelous monster to take home! In the first session, kids will learn how to hand-build and sculpt their monstrosities out of clay. In the second session, they will paint them with all kinds of fun underglazes to make them stand out from the crowd! Finished and fired monsters will be ready for pick-up at 1:00 pm on Saturday, March 8. Uaaarrrggh!

Don’t worry, they won’t steal your cocoa! They’ll keep it safe for you :-)

Make A Monster Mug! is a four-hour workshop in two parts, for kids ages 12–16, that will run on Saturday afternoons, February 15 & March 1, from 1:00–3:00 pm.

Make every day a terror-ifically monstrous delight by putting your favorite hot beverage in your very own handmade monster mug! In the first session, participants will learn the basics of a foundational hand-building technique, slab-building, so that they can craft their mugs, and will be shown how to transform them into monstrosities of the very best kind! In the second session, they will apply underglaze colors to make their monsters even more wild, wonderful and unique! Fired mugs will be ready for pick up on Saturday, March 8, at 1:00 pm.

From monsters, let’s move on to dragons… well, a very specific dragon: our local Book Dragon!

This dragon wants to be your Valentine!

Join us for Story Time & Paint-Your-Own Ceramic Valentine’s Heart! A Half-Hour Workshop for Kids Ages 5+: Saturday, February 8, at the Book Dragon, from 1:00–2:30 pm, with seatings every half-hour.

Calling all kids ages 5 and up! Come and paint your own handmade Valentine’s Heart at the Book Dragon bookshop, located at 102 W. Beverley Street. Join us for a themed story time and a chance to decorate a clay ornament in the shape of a heart, handmade for you by the Staunton Clayground pottery studio! Parents can browse the shelves while they wait. Valentine’s Hearts will be ready to take home at the end of the session, and kids can collect a treat on their way out the door!

Ticket price: $10 (each additional child, $8.00). We will be seating 8 children at a time, every half hour.

And that’s just what we’ve got starting in February! Stay tuned for additional kids’ workshop news coming soon, with more workshops for young folks of various ages, coming in March and April, both at the Staunton Clayground studio and in conjunction with Staunton Parks & Rec, which will be hosted in their facility at Gypsy Hill Park.

Keep watching this space! We can’t wait for you to clay with us 😊 

Wishing you a warm and joyful weekend!

Hello, dear Friends of the Staunton Clayground!

How can you be gloomy when it’s claytime?

Are you feeling a little glum now that the holidays are over? Wondering what to do to lift your spirits once you’ve rung in the New Year? Well, Staunton Clayground has classes starting to fit every schedule and skill level, as early as a week from today! Come down to the studio to clay with us and chase those mid-winter blues right away! Read on to find the one that’s just right for you!

So many days and times to choose from!

Whether your New Year’s resolution is to try something new or return to something you love, our pottery wheel classes for all levels of beginners, from absolute to verging on intermediate, could be just the thing for you!

You can join Valya Boutenko on Friday evenings from 5:00–7:15, starting on January 3, for an eight-week course where students will try their hand at centering clay and throwing basic forms such as cylinders and bowls. The class will focus on mastering simple throwing and trimming techniques and will cover pulling handles for mugs as well as glazing techniques.

Looking for a different weeknight? Then join Mary Tuttle on Wednesdays from 6:00–8:00 pm for a six-week course starting on January 8, also for beginners of all levels! As in the Friday evening class, here, too, the newest potters will learn the basics of making classic vessels like cups and bowls. Those with some experience will focus on gaining confidence with foundational skills such as centering, pulling up the walls, creating consistent cylinders and more. Students who are already able to create simple wares on their own will instead concentrate on design and consistency. We’ll also look at trimming and decoration, as well as how to add handles to our creations.

Would you rather come in on a weekend than a weeknight? Well, we’ve got you covered! Mary Tuttle is holding the same six-week pottery wheel class for all levels of beginner on Saturday afternoons, from 3:00–5:00 pm, starting on January 4! Spots in this one are selling fast, so claim yours now!

Are you ready to level up in the new year? We’ve got a class for you, too! Valya Boutenko is ready to help you progress in your journey as a potter in her Tuesday evening Intermediate Wheel Class, held from 5:00–7:15 pm over eight weeks, starting on January 7.

And those just the classes starting in the first eight days of 2025! So check out our chronological class list and stay tuned, because we’ve got so much more coming!

Meanwhile, we wish you a very Happy New Year!

Warm wishes from the Staunton Clayground team (Cary, Jennifer and Abby)