Pottery Classes Near West Valley City, Utah
The Clay Hole is a community pottery studio in Draper, about twenty five minutes southeast of West Valley City. Wheels, hand building, slab molds, the glaze wall and firing, on a single monthly membership.
West Valley is the second largest city in Utah and the most diverse place in the state. Membership is the only way in here, and there are no drop-in classes.
The drive from West Valley City
Southeast. Either Bangerter the whole way, or east on the belt route and down the freeway.
- Southeast on Bangerter Highway, or east on I-215 to I-15 and south.
- Bangerter 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.
About fifteen miles, twenty to twenty five minutes. From the far west side near the concert venue it is longer, and worth leaving a cushion on a concert night.
Four Green Line stations in the city and none of them come our way. This is a drive.
When you arrive
Parking is free and shared with a few other businesses. Anything not marked reserved is yours, and nobody is directing you into a field.
Four farm towns became one city with no downtown at all
Granger, Hunter, Chesterfield and Redwood merged in 1980. That is why West Valley has no historic main street to point at: there were four of them and none of them won.
What it has instead is the most genuinely mixed population in Utah. It became the first large city in the state to be minority-majority in 2018, and the food runs Korean, Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, Mexican, Peruvian, Honduran and Polynesian within a few blocks of each other.
The eight ton basalt Olmec head outside the Cultural Celebration Center was a gift from the state of Veracruz and is one of only three replicas in the United States. A city with no old buildings of its own went and got itself a three thousand year old one.
Two things that changed recently
The Grizzlies are gone. The franchise was sold in September 2025 and moved to Trenton. And USANA Amphitheatre was renamed in January 2024, although roughly half the valley has not noticed.
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.
A city that is very good at putting on a show and thin on things you do yourself
The largest outdoor concert venue in the state is here. So is an arena that held Olympic hockey and will hold figure skating again in 2034. So is the largest skate park in Utah and forty five holes of public golf.
Almost all of that is something you attend. The Cultural Celebration Center is the exception and it is free, which tells you the appetite is there.
Twenty five minutes southeast is a room where nothing happens unless you do it, and where what you take home is a thing rather than a memory.
- 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 a piece survives a long gap between sessions.
- Nothing to buy first. Clay by the bag, firing by the size of the piece.
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 West Valley City
We are not the closest thing to West Valley and we will not pretend to be. Here is the field.
- Paint your own
Color Me Mine West Jordan
3751 W Center Park Dr, just south of you and much the nearest option here. Pre-made pieces you decorate and they fire.
- Make your own
Cottonwood Clay Studio
7587 S State St in Midvale, east across the valley. Taught classes Monday through Friday with open studio for enrolled students only.
- Make your own
Salt Lake Pottery Studio
965 E 900 S, northeast into the city. Wheel and hand building, one time experiences, courses and memberships. A similar drive to ours in a different direction.
Nothing inside West Valley City where you make the piece yourself, which for the second largest city in Utah is the most surprising gap on this entire site.
What people from West Valley City ask
How far is The Clay Hole from West Valley City?
About fifteen miles, twenty to twenty five minutes. Bangerter Highway runs from West Valley to the exact freeway exit we use. From the far west side allow a little more.
Why is there no pottery studio in West Valley City?
We do not know, and it is the most surprising gap we found researching any of these pages. It is the second largest city in Utah. If one opens, this page will list it.
Can I take a single pottery class instead of joining?
No. Monthly membership is the only way in. Salt Lake Pottery Studio runs one time experiences if a single evening is what you want, and Color Me Mine in West Jordan is closer than either of us.
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 and firing is charged by the size of the piece.
Do you take beginners?
Most members had never touched clay before they walked in. 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. Nothing sells out and nothing goes on sale.
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 West Valley City 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.