Pottery Classes Near Magna, Utah
The Clay Hole is a community pottery studio in Draper, about half an hour southeast of Magna. Wheels, hand building, slab molds, glazing and kiln time, all on one monthly membership.
This is the longest drive of any city in the Salt Lake Valley, and we are going to be straight about that. Membership is the only way in, and there are no drop-in classes.
The drive from Magna
East, then south. You cross the whole width of the valley, which is flat and quick outside the peak.
- East on SR-201 toward I-215 or Bangerter Highway.
- South on Bangerter Highway to its south end at I-15, Exit 289.
- Take the 200 W exit, then right on 13490 S over to Pony Express Rd.
- Past IKEA and Living Spaces. We are on the left.
Twenty two to twenty four miles, about thirty minutes. It is the longest run of any city in this valley and it is honestly a commitment rather than an errand.
Nothing. Magna to Draper is a car trip in both directions.
When you get here
Parking is free and shared with a few other businesses. Anything not marked reserved is yours. After thirty minutes of driving, nobody is going to make you look for a space.
A brick Main Street, and the day the brick let go
Magna's downtown historic district is brick. Twenty six of its thirty eight contributing buildings went up during the copper boom between 1904 and 1929, and the nomination says it plainly: brick is a ubiquitous building material here. The Empress Theatre, built in 1916, is the only building in town listed individually on the National Register.
On 18 March 2020 at 7:09 in the morning, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck with its epicenter about four miles north-northeast of Magna. It was the first major quake inside the Salt Lake Valley since the city was founded. The historic core took extensive damage, and it was overwhelmingly the unreinforced brick that failed.
We fire clay for a living and we are not going to be clever about that. Magna is the one town on this list that has watched fired clay reach the end of what it can do, at seven in the morning, with people inside.
What held
City officials determined that none of Magna's historic buildings needed demolition. Across the entire valley only one building did. A hundred year old brick main street took the strongest earthquake in Utah since 1992 and stayed standing.
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.
Everything from Magna is a drive, so the only question is which one
Magna sits at the far west edge with the Oquirrhs behind it and the Great Salt Lake in front. It was a copper company town for its whole life and it was called Coonville, Ragtown and Dinkyville before Kennecott named it after a mill.
Nothing out there is close. You already drive for the grocery run, the hospital, the good restaurant and the airport. Half an hour is the ordinary unit of distance in Magna, not an unusual one.
So the question is not whether to drive. It is whether the thing at the far end is worth the half hour, and a room with 29 wheels and a wall of glaze is a better answer than most of the other places you drive half an hour to.
- 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, which matters far more when you are not coming twice a week.
- Open seven days a week, so one trip can be a long one rather than two short ones.
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 Magna
Honestly, nothing is close to Magna. Here is the field, in order of how far you would drive.
- Paint your own
Color Me Mine West Jordan
3751 W Center Park Dr. Still a real drive from Magna, and the shortest one on this list. Finished pieces you decorate and they fire.
- Make your own
Salt Lake Pottery Studio
965 E 900 S. East into the city rather than southeast to us, and a comparable distance. Wheel and hand building, courses, one time experiences and memberships.
- Make your own
Cottonwood Clay Studio
7587 S State St in Midvale. Taught classes on weekdays, open studio for enrolled students. About the same drive as we are.
If the half hour is the thing stopping you, take Salt Lake Pottery Studio instead. It is a good studio and it is the same drive in a different direction. We would rather you made pots somewhere.
What people from Magna ask
How far is The Clay Hole from Magna?
Twenty two to twenty four miles, about thirty minutes. It is the longest drive of any city in the Salt Lake Valley and we are not going to describe it as quick.
Is it worth driving half an hour for?
That depends entirely on how often you would come. For somebody coming once a week for a long session and using the shelf properly, yes. For somebody hoping to drop in for an hour after work, no, and Salt Lake Pottery Studio is a better answer in the same amount of driving.
Can I take a single pottery class instead of joining?
No. Monthly membership is the only way in. Given the distance from Magna that is worth thinking about honestly before you sign up rather than afterwards.
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 here, which saves a separate trip to a supplier from a town that has none.
Do you take beginners?
Almost nobody arrives knowing how to do this. Every instructed class has instructors working the room.
What are the class times?
Instructed classes Monday through Thursday evenings plus Monday daytime. Friday evening and both weekend mornings are open studio. Seven days a week, which lets you make one trip count rather than two.
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 Magna 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.