Pottery Classes Near Provo, Utah
The Clay Hole is a community pottery studio in Draper, about thirty five minutes north of Provo. Throwing, hand building, slab molds, glazing and firing, all included in one monthly membership.
Provo ran the largest pottery works in the state for fifty five years, and the clay came out of the ground at 600 North. Membership is the only way in here, and there are no drop-in classes.
The drive from Provo
North on I-15, the length of Utah Valley, then over the Point of the Mountain. This is the longest of the Utah County drives and the freeway does all of it.
- North on I-15 from exit 263 or exit 265.
- Up the valley and over the Point of the Mountain to exit 289, Bangerter Highway.
- West on Bangerter to the 200 W exit, then right on 13490 S.
- Pony Express Rd past IKEA and Living Spaces. We are on the left.
Twenty five to twenty seven freeway miles, so about thirty five minutes with the road behaving. That is a real commitment and we are not going to dress it up as anything else.
FrontRunner runs Provo to Draper and it is a good train. The Draper station is still a couple of miles from the studio with the rail corridor in the way, so the last piece is a rideshare.
When you get here
Free and shared, and nobody is enforcing anything. Anything not marked reserved for a neighboring business is yours. No permit, and no student lot rules.
The biggest pottery works in Utah stood here, and the clay came from 600 North
Erick Christian and August Henrichsen started as Henrichsen Brothers in 1872. When August left in 1874 it was renamed Provo Pottery. The works sat on E.C.'s own property between 600 and 700 West on 300 South, and they dug their clay at 600 North and 500 West, sharing the dig with a competitor called Roberts Pottery.
Storage jars, crockery and flowerpots. It grew into the largest pottery plant in the state and it ran until 1927. Henrichsen's two story house is still standing.
Fifty five years of people in Provo pulling clay out of the ground a mile from downtown, throwing it, firing it and selling it to their neighbors. Of every city we write one of these pages for, Provo is the only one that can say that.
And the reason a local pot was worth more than an imported one
Church leaders pushed craft self-sufficiency hard enough that missionaries were sent to find potters in Staffordshire, England. For a while, in this valley, a pot thrown down the road was worth more than one that had crossed an ocean. Provo Pressed Brick ran from 1891 to 1964 on the same principle.
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 town that fired its own pots for fifty five years does not have a studio like this
Provo has more places to touch clay than anywhere else in Utah County, and we name them below with what they cost. Two hour experiences, four week courses, a young center with seven wheels, and the clearest public firing service in the county.
What none of them is, is a room you belong to seven days a week with your own shelf in it and twenty nine wheels to pick from. That is the whole difference, and at thirty five minutes it is the only argument we have.
If your version of this is a Saturday morning once a week with a shelf of work building up, the drive divides down to nothing. If it is a Tuesday whim, it does not, and Provo is better placed for that than we are.
- A room of wheels, four kilns, a glaze wall and the slab molds, none of which exists any closer.
- Open studio Friday evening and both weekend mornings, on top of the classes.
- Your own shelf, so one longer trip a week is a working rhythm rather than a compromise.
- FrontRunner from Provo, which turns the drive into a seat for most of its length.
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 Provo
Provo has the most real choice in Utah County by a distance. Start here, honestly, and only drive north if none of it is the shape you want.
- Make your own
Utah Center for the Ceramic Arts
On 1000 West. Seven wheels, a slab roller, a clay extruder, studio glazes, two kilns and worktables, with classes, open studio time and memberships, and hourly or daily rental for up to twenty five people. It opened in 2025, so it is young. Their own site blocks automated readers, so everything published about it comes from the booking system rather than from them. Ring first.
- Make your own
Throw Art Studio
On 300 South. A two hour wheel experience at $29.99 a wheel for up to two people plus $9.99 to $14.99 for the piece, four week beginner courses that include evening studio access, kids hand building and summer camp. The cheapest honest way in Utah County to find out whether you like a wheel at all.
- Paint your own
Patty's Ceramics
On West Center Street. A ceramic supply house with six kilns that fires work for the public, repairs kilns and runs painting classes at $4 a class. This is greenware and bisque painting with slip cast molds, not throwing, and it is the clearest public firing service in the county.
If what you need is somebody to fire a piece you made at home, Patty's is in Provo and we do not offer that at all. Our kilns run members' work only.
What people from Provo ask
How far is The Clay Hole from Provo?
Twenty five to twenty seven freeway miles, so about thirty five minutes north on I-15 over the Point of the Mountain. It is the longest Utah County drive on this site.
Is it worth thirty five minutes when Provo has studios?
Often no, and we would rather say so. Provo has more options than anywhere in the county. The case for driving north is open studio seven days a week, four kilns, a wall of six hundred and fifty glazes and a shelf that stays yours. If that is not what you are after, stay in Provo.
Can I get there without driving?
FrontRunner runs Provo to Draper station. The last couple of miles are awkward because the rail corridor sits in the way, so plan on a rideshare at that end.
Can I take a single pottery class instead of joining?
No. Monthly membership is the only way in, with no drop-in classes and no single sessions. Throw Art Studio in Provo does a two hour wheel experience for about thirty dollars and that is the right first step.
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 front desk, which is roughly how the Henrichsens sold it, minus the digging.
Do you take beginners?
Most people who join have never touched a wheel. Every instructed class has instructors working the room, so nobody sits stuck for twenty minutes.
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 Provo 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.