Pottery Classes Near Salt Lake City, Utah
The Clay Hole is a community pottery studio in Draper, about nineteen miles south of downtown Salt Lake City. Wheel throwing, hand building, slab molds, glaze and firing, all on one monthly membership.
Salt Lake City has good pottery studios of its own, several of them closer to you than we are. We list them further down. What follows is the honest case for driving past them.
The drive from Salt Lake City
It is I-15 south almost the whole way, and then one exit and three turns. The last stretch runs past IKEA on the frontage road.
- I-15 southbound to Exit 289, Bangerter Highway.
- Head west on Bangerter and take the 200 W exit.
- Right on 13490 S, which connects you over to Pony Express Rd.
- Follow Pony Express Rd past IKEA and Living Spaces. We are on the left.
About nineteen miles from downtown. Twenty five minutes when I-15 is behaving, and a good deal longer when it is not. We are not going to pretend otherwise. If you work downtown and want pottery on the way home at five thirty, look at the studios in town first.
FrontRunner stops at Draper station, about two miles from the door. The walk from the station is nearer thirty minutes because the rail corridor is in the way, so it is a rideshare at the end or nothing.
When you get here
Parking is shared with a few other businesses in the lot. Any spot that is not marked reserved for one of them is yours, and it is free. We are the next building north of Living Spaces, just down the frontage road from IKEA.
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.
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 Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City is the best served pottery market in the state. Several of these are closer to you than we are, and some of them will suit you better. All of them are worth your time.
- 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.
- 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
Art Haus
177 E 900 S. Adult wheel and hand building classes.
- Make your own
Pottery Night SLC
181 W 1700 S, which is South Salt Lake rather than Salt Lake City. Single session wheel classes where you make and glaze in one night and collect the piece a week later.
- 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 pick a piece that is already made and paint it. Different thing from making the piece yourself.
If one of those is a better fit, go. We would rather you made pots somewhere than talked yourself out of it over a drive.
What people from Salt Lake City ask
How far is The Clay Hole from Salt Lake City?
About nineteen miles from downtown, almost all of it I-15 south. Twenty five minutes with the road clear, and longer in rush hour. From Sugar House it is nearer seventeen miles, and from the University of Utah nearer twenty two.
Why would I drive to Draper when there are studios in Salt Lake City?
Scale and open time, and nothing else. This is a large studio with a big glaze wall, a room of wheels, hundreds of slab molds and four kilns, and membership includes both instructed classes and open studio. If what you want is one evening on a wheel, a studio in town is the better answer and we will say so.
Can I take a single pottery class instead of joining?
No. Monthly membership is the only way in. Pottery takes weeks to finish a piece. For a single evening, Pottery Night SLC and Workshop SLC both run one night classes in the city.
Can I get there on public transit?
FrontRunner stops at Draper station, roughly two miles away, but the walk from the station takes about thirty minutes because of the rail corridor. Plan on driving, or a short rideshare at the end.
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 bought by the bag at the studio, and firing is charged by the size of the piece.
What are the class times?
Instructed classes run Monday through Thursday evenings, plus Monday daytime. Friday evening and both weekend mornings are open studio. The full schedule is on this page.
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 join here from Salt Lake City 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.