Continuing Clay: Altered Forms – Thursday 3pm
$515.00
Push the boundaries of traditional wheel-thrown and handbuilt pottery in this dynamic nine-week course focused on altered forms with experienced ceramicist Maryke Henderson. Through cutting, joining, reshaping, and reconstructing, students will explore new approaches to form and surface, moving beyond traditional vessel shapes.
| Date: | Thursday 23 April 2026 |
| Time: | 3:00pm - 6:00pm |
| Teacher(s): | Maryke Henderson |
| Location: | Workshop Two |
BOOKED OUT
This class is fully booked.
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Description
Exploring Altered Forms
Push the boundaries of traditional wheel-thrown and handbuilt pottery in this dynamic nine-week course focused on altered forms with experienced ceramicist Maryke Henderson. Through cutting, joining, reshaping, and reconstructing, students will explore new approaches to form and surface, moving beyond traditional vessel shapes.
Designed for students who can confidently throw a cylinder, the course supports both functional and sculptural outcomes. Maryke will guide participants through demonstrations and individual feedback, encouraging experimentation and personal expression.
Key Features:
- Techniques for altering and assembling clay forms
- Emphasis on creative development and surface exploration
- Access to fully equipped studios and glazing materials
- Expert instruction from a highly experienced educator and artist
Ideal for those looking to extend their ceramic practice and explore new directions in form-making.
Bring your toolkit and join us for nine weeks of inspiration and creativity! Clay and firing are an additional cost.
Maryke Henderson is a highly experienced ceramic artist and educator based in Canberra, with a career in clay spanning over 38 years. She began her journey in ceramics through teaching children and went on to build a rich and diverse practice. Before moving to Canberra in 2002, she taught ceramics at TAFE in Tamworth and undertook extensive professional development through workshops across New South Wales. In 2005, she completed a Bachelor of Arts (Visual) with Honours at the ANU School of Art, where she focused on soda vapour glazing—a technique that has since become central to her work. Maryke has been a valued member of the Canberra Potters teaching team since 2003, sharing her deep knowledge and love of clay with students of all ages.
Her ceramic practice is rooted in both functional and sculptural forms, often drawing inspiration from the natural world. Maryke is particularly known for her use of soda glazing to achieve rich, textural surfaces that evoke organic forms like lichen, weathered rock, and aged walls. Her work explores the unpredictable interplay of flame and vapour in the kiln, embracing chance and surface variation as core elements of her aesthetic. Maryke’s dedication to her craft and her ongoing experimentation have earned her recognition in exhibitions and awards, including the Doug Alexander Award at the Canberra Potters’ Annual Exhibition.
Important Information
- Duration: Three hours per week for a nine-week term.
- Fees: Includes tuition and studio access. Clay and firing are additional and are charged separately.
- What to Bring: Please bring your toolkit or purchase one from our shop. Wear sturdy, covered shoes, tie back long hair, and leave any precious jewellery at home for safety. Bring an old towel and an apron.
- Studio Clean-Up: To maintain a safe and healthy environment, it is a requirement of class attendance that participants clean their workspaces and assist with the general clean-up of the workshop at the end of each class.
Terms and Conditions
Refund Policy – Classes & Short Courses:
- Class fees will be refunded, less a 10% admin fee, if cancellation is notified more than 10 business days before the first class date.
- If less than 10 business days’ notice is given then a refund, less 10%, will only be given if the place can be taken by another student otherwise the full fee is forfeited.
- Please view your booking as a commitment to attend.
- Classes cannot be transferred from one term to another or one year to another.
- If a class is cancelled due to lack of enrolments, 100% of your class fee will be refunded.
- All changes to bookings and refunds incur a 10% administration fee.
- Canberra Potters will not issue refunds for missed classes or missed emails. Please ensure you have saved the following Canberra Potters emails to your contact list.
- Canberra Potters is a teaching facility and students attend our classes to learn about pottery. Imperfect, broken and cracked items are part of the learning process. We do not provide refunds for work that cracks or breaks while drying, during firing or in general class activities.
Booking Policy
- Canberra Potters does not offer make up classes.
- Payment in full is required as the time of booking to secure a place.
- CPS member discounts apply to course fees.
- All bookings are made by accessing our website
- All prices are subject to change.
- Classes are run subject to numbers.
- Once a class has commenced no refunds will be issued.
Member Discounts
- Member discounts must be applied at time of booking classes online. We are unable to apply member discounts retrospectively.
