Wheel Basics, 6-week course
Starts the first Tuesday of the month
$285Reserve
Mud & Moon Ceramics
Pottery studio in an old ice house, Naples, FL
Clay to the elbows, after dark.
Wheel classes, workshops and an open studio with a shelf of finished pots. Thursdays run until 9:30, when the kiln is the brightest thing on the block.
Clay, glaze and firing are already in the price.
No materials fee at the register, no surprise kiln charge three weeks later. Pick how you want to start.
Intro Wheel Night
Two hours at the wheel, one bag of clay, a teacher for every four people. You keep two pieces: we trim, glaze and fire them.
$68ReserveMoon Night, for two
Thursday evening, two wheels side by side, until 9:00. Two pieces each, fired and glazed. Bring your own wine, we bring the sponges.
$120ReserveWheel Basics, 6 weeks
Six Tuesdays, 2.5 hours each. 25 lb of clay, glazes and up to six fired pieces included. Max 8 students.
$285ReserveWeekend workshops
Handbuilding, glaze day, mugs. One session, one result. Firing included in every price.
$45 to $95ReserveKids Clay Saturday
Ages 7 to 12, 90 minutes, aprons provided. One fired and glazed piece to take home.
$38Reserve
When can I come?
The week on the wall.
Same schedule every week. Tap Reserve and the message to us is already written.
Mondaytoday
Tuesdaytoday
Wednesdaytoday
Thursdaytoday
Fridaytoday
Saturdaytoday
Sundaytoday
Schedule shown in Eastern time. Small classes: groups are capped at 8, so message early.
That is where your mug becomes glass.
Every piece is fired twice. Here is the trip, with the days and the temperatures from the sheet taped to our kiln.
- Day 0
Thrown
Wet clay, about one fifth water. This is the part you do with us in class.
- Day 1 to 3
Leather hard
Firm enough to trim the foot and pull a handle. We do the trimming, or you do it on Glaze Day.
- Day 5 to 10
Bone dry
On the drying racks, pale and fragile as chalk. Nobody sneezes near the racks.
- Bisque, cone 04
1,945°F
About 10 hours up and a day to cool. The clay turns hard and porous, ready to take glaze.
- Glaze day
Dip, brush, wax
Pick from 14 glazes. Wax the foot so it does not weld itself to the shelf.
- Glaze fire, cone 6
2,232°F
About 12 hours up, 18 to cool. The glaze melts into glass and the color you saw on the tile finally shows.
- About week 3
Pick-up
We text you the day it comes out. Food safe, dishwasher safe, held for 60 days.
The shelf. Things we made, and some you can take home.
On the shelf now
- Cobalt bottle vase$64
- Celadon mug, thumb handle$32
- Speckled serving bowl$48
- Moon wall plate, 10 in$58
Each piece is one of one. Message us to hold it and pick it up, or we can ship.
Ask about a pieceIt used to make ice. Now it makes mess.
Mags and Teo took over the old ice house with one wheel, one kiln and a hose. The loading dock is the glaze room now. The cold-storage door still closes with a thunk, and it is where the bisque cools.
They teach small groups because the wheel is a one-on-one conversation. Come once and you will leave with grey fingerprints on your phone.
Pinned to the door
- Aprons live on the hook, not on the floor.
- Your trimmings go in the reclaim bucket. We make new clay from them.
- Wipe the wheel when you leave. Wet sponge, not a dry sleeve.
- Nobody judges the first pot.
Look for the moon over the roll-up door.
Park in the old loading-dock lot. Ring the bell if the door is down, someone is in the glaze room.
Mud & Moon Ceramics1200 Placeholder Lane, Naples, FL 34104
239-555-0142 Demo contact. Not a real business, number and address are placeholders.
Checking hours
Studio log, open hours
- MondayClosed
- Tuesday10 AM - 8 PM
- Wednesday10 AM - 8 PM
- Thursday10 AM - 9:30 PM
- Friday10 AM - 6 PM
- Saturday9 AM - 5 PM
- Sunday12 PM - 5 PM
Kiln day Monday. Thursday runs late for Moon Night.
Questions asked with clay on their hands.
Not here? Text us, we answer between firings.
Do I need any experience?
None. Intro Wheel Night and Moon Night assume you have never touched a wheel. Expect your first pot to be a little wonky. That is part of it.
What should I wear?
Clothes that can get grey. Short nails help. We lend aprons and towels. Rings and long bracelets go in the dish by the door.
When do I get my pieces back?
Usually 3 weeks after your class: one week to dry, one bisque firing, one glaze firing. We text you the day they come out of the kiln and hold them 60 days.
Are the pieces food safe?
Yes. Our glazes are food safe, cone 6, and fine in the dishwasher and microwave. Skip the oven under direct flame.
Can I cancel or move a class?
Up to 48 hours before, no charge, by text or phone. Later than that we keep the clay we already wedged for you, so the fee stays.
Do I have to be a member to use the open studio?
Yes, after your first course. Members get a shelf, a key tag and wheel time during every open hour. Day passes are not offered, because shelf space is limited.
Do you host birthdays and groups?
Groups of 6 to 12 on Sunday afternoons. Handbuilding or wheel, 2 hours. Message us the date you have in mind.
Is there parking?
Yes, the old loading dock lot, 14 spaces. Overflow on the side street.
Blog Notes from the glaze notebook.
Why your pot cracked at the foot
The base dries faster than the walls, so it shrinks first and pulls. Compress the bottom with a rib before you lift the walls, and let the pot dry under loose plastic for two days. Slow wins.
Celadon at cone 6: our test tile notes
Thin coats go glassy and pale green, thick coats go blue and pool in the foot ring. We settled on two dips of 3 seconds. Tile 14 on the glaze table is the one we use.
Wedging: twenty turns that save you an hour
Air pockets burst in the kiln and take the neighbor pot with them. Push, fold, quarter turn, twenty times, until the cut face shows no holes. Do it before you sit down, not after the pot collapses.