Pottery Classes Near Downtown Salt Lake City
The Clay Hole is a community pottery studio in Draper, about half an hour south of downtown Salt Lake City. Throwing, hand building, slab molds, glaze and firing, all on a single monthly membership.
There was a working pottery downtown for forty years and the man who ran it paid children in marbles. Membership is the only way in here, and there are no drop-in classes.
The drive from downtown
South on I-15, most of the way. The grid gets you to the on-ramp and the freeway does the rest.
- South on State Street or 600 South to the I-15 on-ramp.
- I-15 south to Exit 289, Bangerter Highway.
- West on Bangerter to the 200 W exit, then right on 13490 S to Pony Express Rd.
- Past IKEA and Living Spaces. We are on the left.
About twenty miles, roughly twenty seven minutes when I-15 is behaving and a good deal longer when it is not. If you work downtown and want pottery at five thirty, look at the studios in town first.
FrontRunner runs to Draper station, about two miles out, but the walk takes nearly half an hour because the rail corridor is in the way. It is a rideshare at the end or it is a car.
When you get here
Parking is free and shared with a few other businesses. Anything not marked reserved is yours. No garage, no validation and no hourly rate.
He paid the children in marbles and they told him where the clay was
Frederick Petersen was a Danish potter who arrived in Utah in 1852 as an apprentice, set up his own kiln around 1859 after the master potter died, and worked until he died in 1898. The site, near 600 South and 300 East, was excavated: a workshop with stone foundation walls and an adobe house beside it under a terra-cotta tile roof.
He made storage crocks, milk pans and roof tiles. He also made marbles for local children, and traded them for the locations of clay deposits the kids had found in the hills.
A working pottery ran in downtown Salt Lake for about forty years, and part of its supply chain was children, paid in glass.
And they paid more for it
Pioneer-made pottery sold for more than imported goods. Church leaders pushed craft self-sufficiency hard enough that missionaries were sent to find potters in Staffordshire. For a while in this city, a locally thrown pot was worth more than one that had crossed an ocean.
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.
Getting out of the city is the product, not the price
Downtown has a farmers market that is the largest community event in the state, two professional teams, a Broadway house and mountains at the end of every east-west street. Nobody living there is short of something to do.
What downtown does not have is twenty seven minutes of nothing. The drive south is the part where the meeting you are still replaying finally stops.
You arrive with your hands free and a piece on a shelf waiting for you, and clay does not let you think about anything else. Then you drive back. The two halves of that are the same length, and both of them count.
- Four instructed classes a month at the lowest level, eight at the highest.
- Open studio Friday evening and both weekend mornings, on top of the classes.
- Your own shelf, so one trip a week is a working rhythm rather than a compromise.
- Seven days a week, so a weekend morning can replace a hopeless Tuesday.
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 Downtown Salt Lake
Downtown is the best served part of the state and several of these are minutes from you. We will start there.
- Make your own
Salt Lake Pottery Studio
965 E 900 S. Wheel and hand building, kids, one time experiences, multi week courses, memberships and private events. The broadest offering in the city and a fraction of our drive.
- Make your own
Workshop SLC
153 W 2100 S. One time pottery nights, beginner wheel and hand building, continuing ceramics, and a membership with recurring weekly hours.
- Make your own
Studio 1396 at The Front
1396 S 400 W, inside the climbing gym. Wheel and hand building, included with a Front membership or on a ten visit pass. Orientation and a waiver first.
- Paint your own
Color Me Mine Salt Lake
2725 E Parleys Way. You choose a finished piece and decorate it. A different evening entirely and much the lowest commitment.
If you live downtown, start with one of those. This page is for the person who wants to leave the city for an evening on purpose, or who has outgrown a smaller room and wants a bigger one.
What people from Downtown Salt Lake ask
How far is The Clay Hole from downtown Salt Lake City?
About twenty miles, roughly twenty seven minutes when I-15 is clear and considerably longer in rush hour. We are not going to call it quick.
Was there really a pottery in downtown Salt Lake?
Yes. Frederick Petersen, a Danish potter, ran a kiln near 600 South and 300 East from about 1859 until his death in 1898, making storage crocks, milk pans and terra-cotta roof tiles. The site was excavated and the workshop foundations found. He also made marbles for local children and traded them for the locations of clay deposits.
Can I get there on FrontRunner?
It stops at Draper station, about two miles out, but the walk takes nearly half an hour because the rail corridor is in the way. Plan on driving, or a short rideshare at the end.
Why drive south when there are studios downtown?
For most people you should not, and Salt Lake Pottery Studio and Workshop SLC are both good. The drive makes sense if you want a lot more room and a lot more glaze, or if getting out of the city for two hours is itself the thing you are after.
Can I take a single pottery class instead of joining?
No. Monthly membership is the only way in. Workshop SLC and Pottery Night SLC both run single evenings much closer to you.
What are the class times?
Instructed classes Monday through Thursday evenings plus Monday daytime. Friday evening and both weekend mornings are open studio. A weekend morning avoids the freeway entirely, which is worth knowing from downtown.
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 Downtown Salt Lake 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.