Description
Masterclass: Clay Surface Manipulation and Texture with Harriet Hellman
County Hall Pottery, London
Date: 23 January 2027
Times: 10:00–17:00
Duration: One-day Masterclass
Early Bird Price: £170 until 01.01.2017
Regular Price: £190 after 01.01.2017
Short Introduction
Join Harriet Hellman for a one-day masterclass exploring the possibilities of clay surface through layering, manipulation and stretching. Throughout the day, participants will be introduced to a range of techniques for creating expressive and tactile surfaces, including stretching, scoring, scarring, pulling and layering clay. With a focus on handbuilding, the masterclass will explore the relationship between surface and form, encouraging participants to experiment with how clay can be altered, stretched and manipulated to create texture, movement and visual interest.
Suitable for participants with some previous experience of working with clay, this hands-on masterclass offers an opportunity to step outside familiar techniques, experiment with new approaches and develop a more intuitive relationship with the material.
Course Overview
This practical one-day masterclass focuses on the manipulation of clay to create richly textured and expressive surfaces. Through demonstrations, guided exercises and individual making, participants will explore how simple physical interventions can transform the surface and structure of clay. Harriet will introduce different layering and surface manipulation techniques, demonstrating how these processes can be used both to create texture and to influence the overall form of a piece.
The course will encourage participants to work directly and intuitively with the material, responding to the behaviour of the clay as they build. Rather than focusing on producing a large quantity of finished work, the day will provide space to experiment, test techniques and develop a personal vocabulary of marks, textures and gestures.
What You Can Expect
Morning
The day will begin with an introduction to Harriet’s practice and approach to working with clay, followed by demonstrations of the techniques explored throughout the masterclass. Participants will then begin a series of practical exercises investigating different ways of manipulating clay surfaces. Harriet will demonstrate how changes in pressure, movement and the condition of the clay can produce different results, encouraging participants to observe and respond to the material rather than working entirely to a predetermined outcome.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, participants will develop the techniques explored during the morning through more sustained handbuilding. Participants will work towards creating their own forms, combining different marks and textures and considering how surface can become an integral part of the structure. Harriet will provide individual guidance throughout the session, helping participants to refine their techniques, troubleshoot issues and explore how different approaches can be adapted to their own ways of working. The day will conclude with a group discussion and opportunity to reflect on the processes explored, the different surfaces created and how the techniques could be developed further in participants’ own studio practices.
What Participants Will Learn
By the end of the masterclass, participants will have explored:
- How to manipulate clay to create expressive and tactile surfaces.
- Layering Techniques for manipulating clay to build texture and visual depth.
- How to create surface variation through direct physical intervention.
- How the condition and movement of clay affect the final result.
- How to consider surface and form as interconnected elements.
- How to develop a more intuitive and responsive approach to handbuilding.
- How to experiment with marks, gestures and textures without relying on a predetermined outcome.
- How techniques inspired by natural processes and landscapes can inform ceramic making.
- How to continue developing surface manipulation techniques independently in the studio.
What Participants Will Take Away
Participants will take away:
- A series of experimental clay studies exploring different surface manipulation techniques.
- Handbuilding experiments
- A greater understanding of how surface can influence and transform ceramic form.
- Greater confidence in working experimentally and directly with clay.
- New ideas for developing texture, movement and material expression.
- Inspiration to continue experimenting with surface and the physical possibilities of clay.
Finished Work, Firing and Collection
Firing and collection details: Participants will be able to select work produced during the masterclass for bisque firing at County Hall Pottery, subject to size, condition and kiln capacity. As the masterclass is focused on experimentation and process, not all work produced during the day will necessarily be suitable for firing. Harriet will advise participants on selecting pieces that are appropriate for the kiln. Bisque-fired work may be collected at a later date. Collection dates will depend on the studio’s firing schedule and will normally fall within 3–6 weeks.
Skill Level
Suitable for: Intermediate
Skill level notes: This masterclass is designed for participants who already have some experience working with clay and would like to experiment with new approaches to hand building and surface. Participants do not need previous experience of the specific techniques covered, but should feel comfortable handling clay and working independently with basic handbuilding processes.
Materials and Equipment
Clay type:
Stoneware
Materials included:
Clay and standard studio materials required for the practical exercises are included.
Tools or specialist equipment required:
Standard pottery and hand building tools will be available at County Hall Pottery. Any specialist materials or tools required for demonstrations will be provided by the tutor or studio.
Participants should bring:
- Suitable clothes for working with clay.
- A notebook or sketchbook for recording techniques and ideas.
- Any preferred personal pottery tools, if desired.
- Images, objects or natural forms that may inspire surface and texture, if desired.
No previous experience of the specific techniques is required.
About the Teacher
Harriet Hellman is a process-led ceramic artist whose work emerges from direct engagement with the environment and landscape. She completed an MA in Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art in 2020 and has since exhibited internationally and undertaken residencies in Denmark, the UK, Ireland, Japan and the Arctic. In 2025, she won the Peter and Pat Jeffries Award at the London Sculpture Prize.
Primarily a hand builder, Harriet works in response to her surroundings and is interested in the cycles of change and transformation within the natural world. Her practice explores the meeting point between human time and deep time, using clay as a material through which to record fleeting encounters with landscape and place.
Her process often involves layering, tearing and embedding unfired clay into coastal environments, allowing textures and forces within the landscape to leave their imprint on the material. Clay may be immersed, reclaimed or carried away by the tide, creating a dialogue between permanence and impermanence, making and unmaking.
Harriet has been teaching for the past five years, running ceramic classes at Birch Hotel and teaching privately from her studio. In 2022, she created and led a programme of ceramic events at Wilderness Festival, delivering workshops and masterclasses focused on a range of ceramic techniques. She has also given talks and live demonstrations to ceramic audiences, including at the University of Westminster as part of the ‘Clay in Conversations’ series.
Harriet is committed to sharing knowledge and actively participating in creative communities. Her teaching approach is open and generous, encouraging dialogue, experimentation and the exchange of ideas.
Key Information / Practical Details
Date: 23 January
Times: 10:00–17:00
Location: County Hall Pottery, Belvedere Road, Waterloo, London, SE1 7PB
Duration: One-day Masterclass
Class size: Maximum 12 students
Skill level: Intermediate
Clay type: Stoneware
Materials: Included
Firing: Bisque firing of selected work, subject to size and condition
Lunch break: 13:00–14:00
Early Bird Price: £170 until 01.01.2017
Regular Price: £190 after 01.01.2017
Optional Additional Information
This masterclass is centred on experimentation, process and direct engagement with clay. Rather than focusing on producing a large number of finished pieces, participants will have the opportunity to investigate how physical gestures and interventions can transform both the surface and structure of clay.
The course is particularly suited to makers who would like to move beyond familiar handbuilding techniques and develop a more experimental approach to surface.
Harriet’s own practice, which is deeply connected to landscape and natural processes, will provide a starting point for thinking about texture, transformation and the relationship between material and environment.
Participants are encouraged to approach the day with curiosity and openness, allowing the clay to guide some of the decisions made during the process.
