The Leach Year
For Intermediate potters
Clay. Form. Technique. Colour. Beauty. Utility.
A series of workshops across the year for potters to develop their skills
This course will be open for applications and bookings in the coming month.
If you would like to receive an email when the course is open for booking please ask charmaine.orkamfat@leachpottery.com
Clay. Form. Technique. Colour. Beauty. Utility.
The Leach Year strives to nurture a small group of potters to develop their practice, through consolidating production skills within the ethos established by Bernard Leach. In addition, potters are encouraged to question and explore what it means to be a sustainable potter 100 years on from the beginning of the Leach Pottery.
The Leach Pottery has been a place for potters to learn over the last 100 years. Founded by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada, the pottery has hosted potters ranging from Michael Cardew and William Marshall to Warren MacKenzie and Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie. Informed by the founding principles of the Leach Pottery, the potters forged their practices, styles and approaches all rooted in sound technique, form and sensitivity to utility and beauty.
Who is the Leach Year for?
The Leach Year is the ideal experience for makers who already have throwing confidence (reliably centering up to 3kg of clay, throwing repeat forms with a degree of consistency) and who are committed to developing their own practice. Potters may have access regularly to a wheel or kiln outside of this course but this is not a requirement.
The Leach year is taught to two small groups of 4 potters concurrently (Cohort A and B meet on different dates). The workshops are taught by a small group of different tutors to ensure a diversity of skills are imparted. The Glaze Theory aspect of the course is taught to the two groups combined to a total of 8 people.
If a participant has attended a Leach Pottery course previously, the Leach Year will offer you the opportunity to develop and consolidate approaches you have encountered before. For a beginner’s year long course please see here.
The Leach Year offers the opportunity for Potters to:
· Achieve consistency of throwing repeat forms through undertaking production pottery workshops and throwing form challenges both on the electric and kick wheels to an advanced level.
· Consolidate throwing technique, throwing with economy and letting the clay lead.
· Develop a throwing identity and style through considered design and exploration with clay.
· Make sustainable and informed choices for their practice, from choice of clay to glaze and firing methods.
· Grow an understanding of glazes to then develop their own selection of glazes and trouble shoot glazing issues.
The course is taught using both electric wheels and Leach Kick Wheels. The Potter’s Year includes optional self-led challenges and tasks to undertake between engagements at the Leach Pottery. While some thrown outcomes will be fired, the course focuses on the development and consolidation of skills through repetition and therefore we take a reserved approach to firing more than one outcome from each course engagement.
Dates, course content and cost will be shared once the course is open for booking.
Application:
Course fee: Dates, course content and cost will be shared once the course is open for booking.
Deposit payable at time of booking: £1,000
A course deposit of £1,000 is paid up front. This is fully refundable until 14 days after purchase. On receipt of this payment the Leach Pottery will arrange a phone call with you to make sure you are suitable for the course. This is not an interview, just an opportunity to talk through your expectations of the course to ensure the course is the right fit for you and your current skill level before proceeding with the full payment. We will also give consideration to the breadth of experience represented in the class.
The remaining cost of the course can be paid either in one payment or spread across 3 additional payments. The full payment must be received by Monday 12 January 2026.
In the event of failure to make this payment in full we will then contact a waiting list and course deposit will not be refunded.