Handbuilding with Porcelain (4 week course)

Handbuilding with Porcelain (4 week course) - Image 2

Handbuilding with Porcelain (4 week course) - Image 3

Handbuilding with Porcelain (4 week course)

$415.00

Led by highly regarded ceramic artist Cathy Franzi, this course explores the beauty and versatility of hand building with porcelain using pinch and slab techniques. Discover how thin slabs, stained porcelain and refined forms can reveal the translucency, colour and elegance of this distinctive material.

Date:	Thursday 12 November 2026
Time:	6.30pm - 9.30pm
Teacher(s):	Dr Cathy Franzi
Location:	Workshop One

1 SPOTS LEFT

Description

This four-week course explores the qualities of porcelain through a range of handbuilding techniques, with a focus on pinch and slab construction. Cathy Franzi will guide you through the challenges and possibilities of working with this beautiful but notoriously demanding material.

You will learn how to create thin porcelain slabs to encourage translucency, work with stained porcelain to explore its excellent colour response, and refine forms through careful construction and piecing.

Across the four weeks, you will develop techniques for successfully hand building with porcelain while exploring how form, colour, translucency and detail can be used to create elegant and considered ceramic work.

Week 1: 12 November – Explore stained coloured clay and porcelain through pinch pots, experimenting with moisture content and creating subtle surface effects.

Week 2: 19 November – Work with soft slabs to create delicate, lightweight forms, using rolling pins, guides and supports to shape and manipulate the clay.

Week 3: 26 November – Explore template slab building with firmer clay, creating a piece and refining your approach to form and construction.

Week 4: 10 December – Bring your pieces to life with oxide brushwork and a clear glaze, exploring simple ways to enhance form and surface.

Teacher Bio:

Dr Cathy Franzi is an award-winning ceramic artist whose work explores the relationship between Australian flora, science and the environment. Her interdisciplinary practice is informed by her background in science and botanical research, and she creates distinctive ceramic forms featuring detailed representations of Australian plants.

Cathy has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally, with work held in major public collections including the Grassi Museum of Applied Arts in Germany. She was awarded First Prize in the 2025 Lanyon Art Prize and became a member of the International Academy of Ceramics in 2025.

Notes:

This course is aimed at intermediate to advanced potters.
Bring your usual pottery tool kit
A notebook and pencil
Clay and firing are to be paid for separately

What to Bring:

Bring your usual pottery tool kit,
A notebook and pencil

Suggested clays are a bag of Keanes Midfire Lumina or Cool Ice. (Bring your own or purchase from Canberra Potters at the first class).

Important Information

This course is aimed at those with some experience eg. intermediate to advanced potters.
Duration: Three hours per week for 4 weeks.
Fees: Includes tuition and studio access. Clay and firing are to be paid for separately.
What to Bring:
- Bring your usual pottery tool kit,
- A notebook and pencil
-  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.