Pottery Classes Near Bluffdale, Utah
The Clay Hole is on Pony Express Road in Draper, roughly two miles north of Bluffdale. Throwing, hand building, slab molds, glazing and firing, all under a single monthly membership.
It is the shortest drive of any city on this site. Membership is the only way in, there are no drop-in classes and no single sessions, and that is the part most people want to know first.
The drive from Bluffdale
This is barely a drive. You are going north on the same road the studio sits on, or one exit up the freeway.
- North on Pony Express Road, or I-15 north one exit to Bangerter Highway.
- If you take the freeway, exit 289, then west on Bangerter to the 200 W exit.
- Right on 13490 S over to Pony Express Rd.
- Past IKEA and Living Spaces. We are on the left.
Roughly two miles from Bluffdale City Hall. Five minutes, and that is with a red light. There is no version of this drive that is inconvenient.
Bluffdale has no public transit at all. FrontRunner runs straight through the city and does not stop. Everything here is a drive, and this is the shortest one on the list.
When you pull in
Parking is free and shared with a few other businesses. Anything not marked reserved is yours. Two miles north of Bluffdale City Hall, on the same road, which is about as simple as a set of directions gets.
The only Pony Express station between Salt Lake City and Camp Floyd stood two miles from this door
Orrin Porter Rockwell kept it. It ran from April 1860 to November 1861, and it was the single stop on that stretch. The marker sits at Porter Rockwell Boulevard, and the monument was built in 1934 out of stones salvaged from the station itself.
A monument made from the building it commemorates is a very Bluffdale thing, and it is the same instinct as reclaiming clay. Nothing usable gets thrown away.
Bluffdale's first church, built 1887 to 1888, was adobe. Wardle Fields was a working alfalfa, barley and sugar beet farm from the early 1900s into the 1950s before it became a regional park with a fire tower and sixteen pickleball courts.
What we will not claim
We could not confirm that the modern Pony Express Road is named for the historic route, so we are not going to say it is. What is documented is the station, the dates, and where it stood.
A big room, and everything in it is included
The studio runs to nearly 10,000 square feet. Membership covers the room, the equipment, the classes and the glaze. You buy clay by the bag and you pay for firing by the size of the piece. Nothing else is metered.
- Four instructors working the room in every instructed class, so nobody sits stuck for twenty minutes.
- 150+ underglazes alongside the glaze wall, plus dipping buckets on the higher levels.
- Bisque firing is free. Glaze firing is 5 cents a cubic inch, $4.80 minimum.
- Clay starts at $28 a 25 pound bag, and the discount grows with your level.
- Your own shelf to leave work on, which is the thing home potters never have.
The youngest city in the valley and almost nothing to do indoors
Bluffdale's median age is 27.8 and more than a third of the city is under 18. It grew 124 percent in ten years. It has thirteen parks, an Old West Days festival every summer, and a park with a 25 foot fire watchtower and racing zip lines.
All of which is outdoors, and all of which is aimed at kids.
There is very little in Bluffdale for an adult who wants two hours of their own on a Tuesday night. That is what a membership five minutes up the road is actually for.
- Instructed classes four nights a week, plus Monday daytime.
- Open studio Friday evening and both weekend mornings on top of that.
- Your own shelf, so nothing wet has to travel home in the car.
- Teenagers 14 and over can join alongside a parent who is also a member.
Four levels, one monthly price
Every level gets the same studio, the same equipment and the same glaze wall. What changes is how many instructed classes are included, how much shelf you get, and how much comes off a bag of clay.
| Level | Monthly | Classes included |
|---|---|---|
| Green Level | $145 a month | 4 classes a month |
| Yellow Level | $170 a month | 5 classes a month |
| Purple Level | $200 a month | 6 classes a month |
| Black Level | $275 a month | 8 classes a month |
Open studio time is on top of the included classes, at every level. Clay discounts run from nothing on Green Level up to $6 off each bag on Black Level.
The part we would rather you read now than find out later
There are no drop-in classes and no single sessions. Membership renews on the 25th of each month and canceling has to happen before the 24th. Fired work has to be collected within two weeks of the kiln being unloaded. And the cheapest level shows you a real fraction of what a busy month here looks like.
If that list makes membership the wrong shape for you, it is better to know in the first minute than in the fourth week.
When the studio is open
| When | Hours | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Monday daytime | 10:30 AM to 2 PM | Instructed class |
| Monday to Thursday evenings | 6:30 PM to 10 PM | Instructed class |
| Friday evening | 6:30 PM to 10 PM | Open studio |
| Saturday and Sunday mornings | 10 AM to 1:30 PM | Open studio |
Doors open 15 minutes before a session starts, and the studio closes for fourteen holidays a year. The full list, with this year's dates, is on the class schedule page.
Other pottery near Bluffdale
There is nowhere in Bluffdale to make pottery. Here is what is near, and for some people one of these is the better answer.
- Make your own
Bella Rosa Pottery
In Herriman, the closest place to Bluffdale where you make the piece yourself. Eight week wheel and hand building courses, shorter Clay Nights, and camps for kids in summer. A course has a start and a finish, which suits some people better than an open membership.
- Make your own
Cottonwood Clay Studio
7587 S State St in Midvale. From Bluffdale that is the length of the valley, so it is a real trip rather than an errand. Taught classes weekdays, open studio for enrolled students.
We could not find anywhere inside Bluffdale to make the piece yourself. If we have missed one, tell us and it goes on this page.
What people from Bluffdale ask
How far is The Clay Hole from Bluffdale?
About two miles from Bluffdale City Hall. Five minutes. It is the shortest drive of any city we write a page for, and you can do it on Pony Express Road without touching the freeway.
Can I take a single pottery class instead of joining?
No. Monthly membership is the only way in. A single evening class sends you home with wet clay and nowhere to fire it. If you want a one-off, Bella Rosa in Herriman runs shorter Clay Nights.
Is there a bus or train from Bluffdale?
No. Bluffdale has no public transit and FrontRunner passes through without stopping. It is a five minute drive, so this has never been a real problem.
Can my teenager join with me?
Yes, from 14, as long as a parent or guardian attends alongside them and is also a member. Below 14 we are not the right place.
Do I need my own tools or clay?
No tools. Membership covers the wheels, the hand building tables, the slab molds, the glaze wall and the classes. Clay is by the bag at the studio, which matters in a city with no pottery supply of its own and no transit to reach one.
What are the class times?
Instructed classes Monday through Thursday evenings plus Monday daytime. Friday evening and both weekend mornings are open studio. At five minutes away you can come for an hour and still be home early.
What happens if you join this week
You pick a level, sign the waiver, and turn up to your first class. Somebody shows you where everything is, you get a shelf, and you put your hands in clay the same night. Most people who come from Bluffdale and join here have never touched a wheel.
- Nothing to bring. What to wear is covered on the what to wear page.
- The first day page walks through the whole first visit, in order.
- Free lessons for everything else live in Clay Hole University, whether or not you ever join.
Questions are quickest by text. The studio line is 385-241-5528. We are at 12896 S Pony Express Rd, Suite 100, Draper, UT 84020.