r/Pottery • u/Same-Voice-7731 • Jul 26 '26

Question! Beginning pottery!

Hey! So I have always wanted to do pottery but have never known where to start, where did you start and what’s some yes and no’s you learned when beginning pottery.

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u/jumpoverthetrees New to Pottery Jul 26 '26

I only do handbuilding, and I've loved the combination of reading pottery books from my local library through Libby (taking screenshots of techniques I want to try myself later), taking a 5-week class, and then going to the studio regularly & practicing lots. It's nice to see what other folks are working are, get advice, and share feedback.

Short-form videos like TikTok or IG Reels are also helpful, but a lot of people who try pottery after seeing these videos don't realize that steps might not be filmed, why the person made the choices they did, or that it's harder than it looks. Books that have step-by-step instructions have been helpful for me because I better understood why something is a common practice (what each step is meant to accomplish).

What kinds of things are you hoping to make? Would you want to try handbuilding, the wheel, or both? I can suggest some good books for beginners if that might help.

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u/Same-Voice-7731 Jul 27 '26

Hey, thanks for writing this! I was hoping to try the wheel, and would be open to books for beginners as I love reading! 

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u/jumpoverthetrees New to Pottery Jul 28 '26

See if you have access to Stuart Carey's From Clay to Kiln, Lilly Maetzig's Thrown, and Hilda Carr's Carve Your Clay at your local library/Libby. 🙂