Darun Pottery School is a fully equipped pottery school in Yokohama. We offer a range of trial classes including hand-building, wheel-throwing, tile, nabe pot and accessories. We also have short term and long term courses for people interested in studying pottery intensively or over a longer period of time. Our curriculum covers forming techniques, basic and traditional Japanese forms, trimming and glazing. We can also tailor courses if you’re particularly interested in one aspect of the pottery making process.
Trial courses
1．Hand-building
Hand-building is a technique that can be used to make a wide range of non-symmetrical forms. For example, the Japanese chawan, a bowl used for tea ceremonies, is made by a combination of coiling and pinching techniques.
Class 1: Forming
Our trial hand-building course focuses on making tableware with techniques such as slab, coiling and pinching. We also have a selection of stamps, molds and rope / string if you want to add texture or patterns to your pieces. We bisque-fire your pieces once they’ve dried to a bone-dry state.
Class 2: Painting
We have a wide range of underglaze colors and glazes you can apply to your works once it has been bisque-fired. Our instructors will guide you through Japanese glazing techniques and also help with the technical aspects of glazing and painting.
2．Wheel-throwing
Wheel throwing has a long history in Japan and is ideal for making symmetrical works efficiently.
Class 1: Forming
Our instructors will guide you through Japanese wheel-throwing techniques. Our wheel-throwing classes cover forming techniques for basic tableware such as cups, small plates, small vases and bowls.
Class 2: Trimming
If you want some hands on experience on the entire pottery making process, we recommend you to take the trial trimming class. Trimming is a crucial step in making light-weight and streamlined forms from works made on the potter’s wheel as the excess clay at the base of works make it heavy and irregular. Attaching handles or other forms to the works is also done at the trimming stage. For example, handles are attached to cups and handles and spouts of teapots are attached at the trimming stage.
Class 3: Painting
We have a wide range of underglaze colors and glazes you can apply to your works once it has been bisque-fired. Our instructors will guide you through Japanese glazing techniques and also help with the technical aspects of glazing and painting.
3．Tile
Our tile course will take you through basic glazing techniques specific to tiles. You can design your own patterns for the tiles but we also have a wide range of tile templates you can choose if you’re lacking inspiration. Since they’re the quintessential ceramic tiles, our template range has many geometric patterns Persian tiles.
4．Nabe
Nabe literally translates to pot in Japanese and is more commonly known as the type of Japanese cuisine where vegetables and meat are cooked to form a stew. It’s a very popular dish in the colder months and no winter in Japan is complete without a nabe party. Nabe pots are generally made from clay as it can retain heat for a long time after it’s off the stove.
Class 1: Forming
Our instructors will guide you through handbuilding techniques specific to nabe pots. Although the basic pot shape is needed, you can customize the pot with different patterns or sculptural attachments.
Class 2: Painting
We have a wide range of underglaze colors and glazes you can apply to your works once it has been bisque-fired. Our instructors will guide you through Japanese glazing techniques and also help with the technical aspects of glazing and painting.
5．Accessories
Metal and gems usually come to mind when we think of jewelry and accessories but it can be made from clay as well. You can easily make customized pieces for friends, family and yourself during our accessories trial class.
Class 1: Forming
Our instructors will guide you through basic handbuilding techniques for making accessories. We have all the spare parts needed for making brooches, earrings and pendants (necklaces).
Class 2: Painting
We have a wide range of underglaze colors and glazes you can apply to your works once it has been bisque-fired. Our instructors will guide you through Japanese glazing techniques and also help with the technical aspects of glazing and painting.