Fountain Square Clay Center

We visited the center using a Groupon for our family of 4. It was an overall fantastic experience. We had our 8 and 10 year old with us, amongst a group of adults, but Chris did a wonderful job patiently working with them to ensure they were able to build pieces they could be proud of (but not «taking over» and making sure that they still «owned» their piece). It’s a lot to digest in a little time, but it’s really intended to give a flavor for a more in depth class, which we are certainly interested in. I can’t recommend the center enough!

I found a 2-​for-​1 deal on Groupon that allowed my friend and me to take a 2-​hour pottery class for $ 30. Never having tried it, I purchased it and then scheduled our class on FSCC’s website.
There was a full class that night of eight people, plus our pottery teacher, Chris. He began the class by dividing up our clay and demonstrating how to wedge it. Then we took our seats at our individual wheels, and Chris did another demonstration of making a pot. At first I was a bit overwhelmed as Chris did the entire process (there were a lot of steps and hand placements), but he assured us that he would help us along the way when it was our turn (Phew!). Once his lovely pot was made, it was our turn to take the wheel.
I won’t lie: I found the process to be trickier than my some of my classmates, but I had about an hour for my many rounds of trail and error (emphasis on error). As we molded and shaped our pots, Chris spent time with everyone in helping them with their clay creations, from reviewing a technique to cutting the clay off the wheel to handling our pieces. I greatly benefited from his guidance and, with his help, I had a pretty cool piece.
By the time we needed to clean up, most people made three pots, bowls, or cups. We labeled our pots, and Chris explained that either he could glaze our pottery for $ 10 per person, or we could purchase time in a monitored open studio (held on weekends at $ 10 for two people) and glaze them ourselves. My friend and I chose the latter, and I’m looking forward to coming in again and learning how to glaze.
I would definitely recommend anyone to give this pottery class a try, especially if you’re looking for something different to do in Indy and love a good Groupon deal. Best of luck at the potter’s wheel!