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 small in-person classes in Oxford and Hernando, Mississippi, and online through a course community you can start free.
Two ways to learn
Studio classes
Hands-on classes in Oxford and Hernando, 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 and winter.
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 courseUpcoming pottery classes
Small groups with April at the wheel and the worktable. Wheel throwing and hand-building for beginners and experienced makers, with clay, tools, glazes and firing included. Pick a class to reserve your spot.
Clay in Day: AM Wheel & Hand-Building Class (Hernando)
Five Monday-morning sessions at the wheel and the worktable in Hernando, MS. Wheel throwing and hand-building for beginners and experienced makers. $455 includes clay, glazes and firing.
Clay at the Studio: PM Wheel & Hand-Building Class (Oxford)
Six evenings at the wheel and the worktable at The Potter's Hands Studio in Oxford, MS. Wheel throwing and hand-building for beginners through experienced students. $455 includes clay, glazes and firing.
Clay in Day: AM Wheel & Hand-Building Class (Hernando)
Five Monday-morning sessions at the wheel and the worktable in Hernando, MS. Wheel throwing and hand-building for beginners and experienced makers. $455 includes clay, glazes and firing.
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?
In Oxford and Hernando, Mississippi. Each class listing shows its location, and you reserve your spot right here on this page. Once you book, you'll get the details by email.
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