Create a personalised portrait pot with ceramicist Catherine Claasen.
Join us for a hands-on ceramics workshop where you’ll design and craft a unique clay cylinder, bringing it to life with expressive facial features inspired by portraiture. Under the expert guidance of ceramicist Catherine Claasen, you’ll learn essential pottery techniques and explore the use of colourful underglazes and slips to give your portrait pot a personality of its own. Your finished piece will be fired for later collection.
The workshop begins with an introduction to the basics of working with clay. You’ll roll, measure, and cut clay slabs to form a cylinder, attaching a base using the traditional score and slip method.
Next, you’ll visit the Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists exhibition for inspiration, where you can sketch ideas for your pot. Back in the studio, you’ll cut and shape the facial details from clay slabs and attach them to your cylinder. Finally, you’ll bring your creation to life by decorating it with vibrant slips and underglazes, adding personality and colour to your portrait pot.
Please be advised that your pot will remain at the gallery to be dried, bisque fired, glazed with a clear glaze and fired by Catherine, which may take up to 3 weeks. You will be notified when it is ready to collect from the Gallery.
If you have any further questions, or would like to discuss access needs, please do not hesitate to contact Rachel our Events Officer r.bingham@pallant.org.uk
Please note
We ask that you attend the workshop in comfortable clothes that you don’t mind getting messy.
Price includes the cost of tuition, all materials and teas, coffees and biscuits, plus entrance to the gallery and all our exhibitions on the day. It also includes the firing costs of your pot which you will be able to collect from the gallery after firing – this may take up to 3 weeks. Please let us know if you have any allergies or dietary requirements and we will do our best to cater for you.
There is an option to purchase a Lunch Box provided by Pallant Café, this will be delivered to you during the break. The lunch box is £13 and a menu will be shared with you at the start of the workshop to make your selection.
Please ensure we have the correct contact information for you in case of any last minute changes.
Catherine Claasen
Catherine is a ceramicist who now works as a Freelance Art Educator after a career in teaching. Working with a variety of clays and ceramic techniques, she enjoys experimenting with adapted forms, mixing elements of hand-building and throwing.
She spends time making pots that look and feel interesting, often both functional and decorative – pots that tell a story, pots that make you think.
