Discover the art of wheel throwing with Lin YingTong, in this 4-week introductory course that balances technical precision with physical, bodily awareness. Drawing on her background in visual design and training in Jingdezhen, China - a city world-renowned as the global capital of porcelain and ceramic craftsmanship - this morning course is designed specifically for absolute beginners and approaches ceramics as a rhythmic, somatic craft.
Influenced by dance and somatic movement, she'll teach you the core mechanics of shaping clay by focusing closely on your body’s relationship to the wheel. Grounded in a connection to the everyday actions of holding, drinking, and gathering, you'll build a felt confidence with a material that directly responds to and records your physical presence.
With a limit of just 4 places, the course is highly individualised. You'll have dedicated access to your own wheel and plenty of direct, one-on-one guidance from Ying as you navigate each stage of the process.
What to expect
Over four weeks, you'll move through the entire lifecycle of throwing on the wheel, from raw clay preparation to the final glaze firing.
Rather than just following rigid steps, you'll explore how your posture, hand positioning, and focus directly affect the clay. The sessions combine clear, technical demonstrations with space to experiment, allowing you to learn from the material and make independent choices about the objects you create.
Week-by-Week Overview
Week 1: Clay Prep, Rhythm & Centring
We begin with the absolute basics, learning how to prepare clay through wedging before getting straight onto the wheel. The focus of this first session is rhythm and physical awareness. You'll practice the foundational movements of centring the clay and pulling up a basic cylinder form, getting used to how the material responds to your hands.
Week 2: Shaping Everyday Objects
Returning to the wheel, we build on the basic cylinder and begin shaping the walls toward functional, everyday forms like cups, mugs, or bowls. Ying will guide you through more delicate throwing techniques, exploring how subtle changes in control, pressure, and balance alter the final profile of your pot.
Week 3: Trumming & Refining Form
By the third week, your pieces will have firmed up to a leather-hard state, making them ready to be trimmed. After a demonstration on how to trim various foot rings, you'll learn how to carve away excess weight to reveal and refine your final shapes. We'll focus closely on design considerations like weight distribution, balance and final form.
Week 4: Glazing & Senses
After your pots have been through their first firing, we'll focus on surface finishes and glazing. We'll cover the considerations behind choosing glazes that complement different vessels, alongside the practical techniques to apply them. You'll leave with a small, completed collection of functional objects designed for daily use - mugs or small pots whose curve and weight you come to know through holding them.
What You’ll Gain
By the end of the course, you will have:
- A solid understanding of basic wheel throwing mechanics
- Growing confidence in wedging, centering, pulling, and turning clay
- Experience making simple, functional, cylinder-based forms (cups, beakers, small pots)
- Practical knowledge of basic glazing techniques and finishing applications
- An understanding of the full lifecycle of wheel throwing practice and the sensory qualities of an object
- A small collection of your own handmade, glazed ceramic vessels
Course Dates:
Week 1: Friday 3 July 2026
Week 2: Friday 10 July 2026
Week 3: Friday 17 July 2026
Week 4: Friday 24 July 2026
Please note: missed sessions cannot be rescheduled.
Class Times:
10:00-12:30 (2.5 hours per session)
Please note: the final 30 minutes are dedicated to cleaning and organising work.
Please arrive no earlier than 5 minutes before the session begins, as there is no waiting area and the studio will be in preparation.
Tutor Statement:
Coming from a background in visual communication design, I came to ceramics as a materiality that completes thought, a method where ideas take physical form through making. After training in Jingdezhen, China, my practice now moves between ceramics, design, and writing. My vessels are grounded in a connection to the everyday actions of holding, drinking, and gathering, focusing closely on the sensory qualities of weight, curve, and touch.
I teach wheel throwing as a felt, physical practice as much as a technical one. Clay is an incredibly responsive material, so my starting point is always the body's relationship to the wheel, drawing influences from dance and somatic movement. I find it fascinating to think about where we place our attention, how we control our posture, and how the flow of weight and force contributes to a free-flowing making process. I hope to share a way of building both technical precision and a felt awareness of how we move with a material that resists repetition and records presence.
Instagram: @lin.yingtong
About SET Ceramics:
SET Ceramics is a contemporary community pottery studio tucked away inside a beautifully converted former cobbler’s shop on Crutched Friars, less than a minute from Fenchurch Street Station and a short walk from Tower Gateway.
Part of the arts organisation and registered charity SET, the space functions as both a working hub for members and an artist-led learning environment for the public. Alongside affordable studio memberships, we offer public courses, workshops, and kiln hire led entirely by practising ceramic artists.
With four pottery wheels, a 220-litre kiln, hand-building stations, glazing and finishing facilities, and dedicated studio spaces, SET Ceramics is set up for people who want to spend real time making and building skills. Course discounts apply for SET Studio Members and residents of the City of London.
Instagram account: @setceramicset