Learn pottery in Oxford, Mississippi — or online, at your own pace
April Dupuis taught adult pottery classes for seventeen years and trained the instructors who taught beside her. Today she teaches in person at the Powerhouse in Oxford, and online through a course community you can start free.
Two ways to learn
Studio classes
Hands-on classes at the Powerhouse in Oxford, where April guides you at the wheel and the worktable in a small group. Real clay, real equipment, a finished piece to take home.
Registration is open now for fall.
See upcoming classesThe course community
Step-by-step video lessons in wheel throwing, hand-building, trimming, glazing and decorating — plus a community where you can post your progress and get feedback.
Free to join, with the full Foundations track included. Membership unlocks the rest.
Explore the online courseClasses at the Powerhouse
April teaches in person at the Powerhouse in Oxford, through the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. Small groups, real wheels, and a finished piece to take home. Registration is handled on the Arts Council site.
Clay in the Day
Six Tuesday afternoons at the wheel and the worktable. Wheel throwing and hand-building, taught side by side, at a pace that suits beginners without boring anyone who has done this before.
Tuesdays, August 25 – September 29, 2026
12:00 – 2:00 PM · 6 sessions
$455 · $450 for Arts Council members
15 spots · Register by August 22
Beginners and experienced makers alike. Your finished pieces are fired and ready for pickup 5–7 weeks after the course ends.
Register for Clay in the Day
Monthly Sip & Pottery
One evening, one piece, no commitment. Bring a friend, bring a drink, and make something with your hands for two hours. The easiest way to find out whether clay is for you.
Monday, August 31, 2026
6:00 – 8:00 PM · single session
$95 · $93 for Arts Council members
15 spots · Register by August 29
Adults. No experience needed. Your piece is fired and ready for pickup 5–7 weeks after class.
Register for Sip & Pottery
The Powerhouse · 413 South 14th Street, Oxford, MS 38655
Classes are hosted by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. Registration and payment happen on their site.
The course community
If you're not close enough to Oxford for a studio class, this is the way in. April teaches the same techniques online — step by step, on video, in a private community where you can post what you're working on and get an answer back.
Lessons and demonstrations
Video lessons covering each technique, plus demonstrations and creative projects you can work through whenever you have an hour and a bag of clay.
Beginner to intermediate. The Foundations track is yours free and stays that way. Membership is monthly, so you can go deep for a season and step back when life gets busy.
Small enough to get answered
This isn't a course you buy and disappear into. It's a small, welcoming group where April is present, questions get real answers, and posting a wobbly first cylinder is the point rather than the risk.
Join free — start with FoundationsInside the classroom
Nineteen courses, from your first bag of clay through April's own carving techniques. The Foundations track is free the moment you join. Membership opens the wheel forms and the decorating work.
Foundations
- Welcome to the Studio
- Understanding Clay
- Pottery Tools, Wheels, and Materials
- Wheel Throwing versus Handbuilding
- Beginner Pottery Foundations
- Creativity, Mindset, and the Therapeutic Practice
Types and stages of clay, why clay cracks, what tools actually matter, and which approach suits you before you commit to either.
Forms on the wheel
- Pottery Cylinders & Cups Made Easy
- Functional Pottery Bowls Simplified
- Secrets to Successful Plates
- Vases & Tall Vessels
- Altered Forms on the Potter's Wheel
- Simple Spoon Rests
Wall control, balance, and the specific reasons plates warp and crack — taught form by form rather than as one long throwing lesson.
Surface & decoration
- Sgraffito from the Master
- Carving on Clay
- Beautifully Textured Pieces on the Potter's Wheel
- Paper Resist on Clay Platters
- Wax Resist Technique for Glazing Pottery
- Velvet Underglazes Unleashed
Where April's own work lives. Layered slip, carving, resist techniques, and underglaze — taught by the person who spent two decades refining them.
Plus a private studio tour. A walkthrough of the studio and finished
Start at lesson one. Nothing is assumed — including that you own a wheel. The hand-building lessons need only clay, your hands, and a table. Skip ahead to whatever you keep getting stuck on. Trimming and glazing are where most people plateau, and both have their own lessons. The decorating lessons go further than most beginner courses, because they cover the sgraffito carving April has spent two decades refining.Start where you are
You've never touched clay
You've taken a class or two
You're finding your own style
What it looks like
Hands, clay, and a table full of people who mostly hadn't done this before. Tap any photo to see it full size.
Common questions
Do I need a pottery wheel to start?
No. The hand-building lessons — pinch, coil, and slab — need nothing but clay, your hands, and a table. Start there and add a wheel later if you decide you want one.
Do I need any experience?
None. The lessons start at the beginning and assume you have never touched clay. If you have taken a class before, skip ahead to whichever technique you are stuck on.
Where are the in-person classes held?
At the Powerhouse, 413 South 14th Street in Oxford, Mississippi. Classes are hosted by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, and registration happens on their site.
When do I get my finished pieces?
Pieces are fired, finished, and ready for pickup 5 to 7 weeks after the class ends. Firing and glazing take time, and rushing either one is how pieces crack.
How much time does the online course take?
As much or as little as you have. Lessons are short and self-paced, and nothing is scheduled — revisit a technique whenever a piece doesn't go the way you hoped.
What does it cost?
Joining is free, and the free account includes the whole Foundations track — clay, tools, wheel versus handbuilding, and beginner foundations. The two advanced tracks, wheel forms and surface decoration, come with membership at [PRICE] a month. No card is needed to join and start on the free track.
What happens if I stop my membership?
Membership is monthly, so you can stop whenever you like. Your free Foundations access stays either way — stopping only closes the two advanced tracks, and rejoining opens them again.
Where is the community hosted?
On Skool, a private community platform separate from this site. You'll create a free account there to join.
Ready to make something?
Come to the studio in Oxford and learn at the wheel with April, or start online tonight with the free Foundations track. Both begin the same way — hands in clay.
See upcoming classes Join free online