Free Sample
The Purple Guide to Learning Pottery in 10 Days
A 10-day starter plan to shape, throw, and glaze your first pieces — and decide if pottery is worth keeping in your life.
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: First Day
Welcome to Day One. If you are reading this with a lump of clay somewhere nearby — or before you've even bought one — you're already in the right mindset. This is the day you actually touch the material, not just read about it. You won't become a potter today. You'll become someone who has finally tried it, which is a better thing to be than a person who just keeps thinking about it.
Before you do anything else, let's set up your space. You don't need a studio. A kitchen table works fine, as long as you're comfortable with a little mess. Cover it with an old shower curtain, a large trash bag split open, or a cheap plastic tablecloth. Tape the edges down — clay is heavy and will pull at the tablecloth. You'll need a bowl of water, a towel, and a lump of clay. That's it. If you can get a half-pound to a pound of clay from a craft store, that's perfect for today. If you're using whatever air-dry clay the corner shop had, that works too, but the process will feel slightly different. Real clay that you can fire later is preferable, but air-dry clay is fine for a first touch.
Now, the clay. Take it out of its bag. Feel its weight. It's cold, dense, and a little damp — like a very heavy piece of bread dough. If it's rock hard, it's been sitting around. Wrap it in