Online Workshops

Get creative on your coffee table or kitchen bench

“It’s amazing that technology can allow me to get a clay hand-building experience, that feels almost one-on-one, from the comfort and safety of my own home”

The Fried Mudd Online workshops use Zoom to facilitate a virtual classroom. The class sizes are limited to permit unrestricted interaction between the participants and the teacher. The duration of the workshops is flexible, so as to allow all participants to complete their project and breaks are regularly scheduled. Give yourself three hours or so.

So as to maximise the value of the session, all participants will get access to an online video of the process, before the session starts, to be able to practice in advance or at least rehearse the process in their mind.

What you will need:

• a phone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone and the Zoom application installed (which you can get from here).
• clay – options described below.
• basic tools – also described below.
• a sense of FUN!

What you will get:

• a close-up, well-paced demonstration and interactive tutorial of the creative process.
• access to a pre-recorded video of the process, for a week either side of the workshop.
• access to discounted firing and glazing facilities for your completed work.

Where can I get some clay?

The best place to source clay is from your local Pottery Supplies merchant. In the Sunshine Coast, that is the Clayshed in Kunda Park and in Brisbane, there are a few sources, including Pottery Supplies in Milton. Elsewhere, Google will turn them up for you.

We would recommend using Feeney’s Buff Raku Sandy (BRS) or Buff Raku Trachyte (BRT) clays or White Raku (WR), as an alternate option.

For those within reach of the Fried Mudd Studio, clay can be purchased in advance and picked up from the “Pottery Box” at the Fried Mudd Potter Studio, in Maleny.

What about tools?

Fortunately, very few tools are required and most can be made out of things found around the home. Of course, if you are going to a pottery supplies place, you can pick up what you need from there. Here’s a list of what would be handy: –

• a knife for cutting out shapes – a steak knife works fine.
• a rolling pin for flattening the clay – anything round, like a piece of thick dowel or some pipe.
• a wooden tool – a paddle pop stick, sharpened at one end is a (possibly lesser) substitute for the real thing
• a wire-cutter for slicing clay off the block – an old bread knife would probably work.
• a kidney, metal, rubber or both – definitely nice to have the real thing but an old credit card, cut to shape, certainly works.

But I’m not technical …

Zoom is surprisingly easy to install and use, but if you are having difficulty getting set up, we will do what we can to help you out. On the day, we will start the session 15 minutes ahead of time, to ensure that everyone is connected and organised before the session begins. The pre-workshop video is simply watched in your browser (Chrome, Firefox, for example) and accessed at students.friedmudd.com, using your email address and provided password.

How do I book?

Easy! Just click Book Now below. If you have a gift Voucher, you can use that, too …