We Tried It: Studio Norae’s Wheel Pottery Class

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

I first came across potter Lauren Shin’s beautiful line, Norae Ceramics, a few years ago and was instantly smitten with her sculptural, clean-lined aesthetic. So, when I found out that she had created a home ceramics studio and was offering wheel classes, I jumped at the chance to learn from such a skilled craftswoman.

HONOLULU Magazine art director Christine Labrador, a fellow pottery newbie, and digital editor Andrea Lee, who’d logged some wheel time in high school, joined me for Shin’s one-day wheel workshop ($150).

The Setting

Adjacent to Shin’s family home in Kāne‘ohe, the bright and airy Studio Norae is made up of several spacious rooms and a breezy covered lānai. Soft light streams in through several windows, which offer views of the lush foliage outside. The individual workspaces are immaculately clean and tidy, dotted only with cheery houseplants. Sometimes Shin’s fluffy golden retriever pads in and out en route to sunny spots on the floor. It’s about as relaxed and serene as it can get.

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The Walkthrough

After a quick tour, Shin goes over what we’ll be learning in the two-and-a-half-hour wheel workshop. It’s an introductory lesson, so it’s perfect for beginners or those looking for a refresher on basic techniques. As a novice, I like that the workshop offers hands-on experience without locking you into weeks or months of classes. You can try it out and see how it goes before fully committing.

We learn about different types of clay and how it’s wedged (removing air bubbles to prep for throwing), which Shin does ahead of time to maximize students’ time on the wheel. And we go over the different stages that lead up to firing a piece in the kiln, including drying, trimming and glazing.

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Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Wheel Time

Before we begin throwing, Shin hops on a station and demonstrates how to center the clay (crucial for creating a symmetrical piece), how to work the wheel and the best body positions for steadiness. She proceeds to create an opening in the clay, raise its walls and shows us how to use various wood and metal tools to shape and trim a piece, all of which looks so effortless in her hands.

Now it’s our turn. At our individual stations, we plop down our clay and attempt to repeat all the same steps. We get used to speeding up and slowing down the wheel, adding water to our clay to keep it hydrated and gently working the clay into our desired shapes. The steps are nuanced, but Shin is extremely patient, answering every last “and what do we do now?” until somehow, we all turn out decent looking bowls. Amazingly, while it’s felt like we’ve been at it for 15 or 20 minutes, a whole hour has rolled by. The activity requires such focus and attention that the world around you seems to melt away.

The class allows you to throw two pieces, so for my second, I get a little braver and attempt a bubble cup. It’s going pretty well until I realized that the top bubble is much larger than the bottom and a little wonky. I attempt to stretch the bottom bubble to match and before you know it, I’ve punched a hole in the side with my finger. Shin quickly pops over and helps me reshape it, kind in her assurance that mistakes are part of the process.

Photo: Brie Thalmann

Finishing Touches

After cleanup, we head outside to choose our glaze colors. You can go for a single hue or layer two, and there’s a choice of glossy or matte. Shin handles the actual glazing, along with the trimming and firing, which would require multiple visits, but if interested in learning, you can sign up for one of her six-week classes. One month later, your pieces will be finished and ready for pickup.

Our finished pieces all turn out pretty well. My little rice bowl ends up a sweet robin’s egg blue with speckles. My bubble cup is a gorgeous shiny blue-green, but admittedly still pretty wonky. But the results are encouraging enough that I’m eager to try my hand at more.

To book a Studio Norae wheel workshop or shop Lauren Shin’s Norae Ceramics line, visit noraeceramics.com. @noraeceramics, @studionorae