The Arkansas State University Department of Art + Design is offering a pottery class open to the community for the first time. 

The class began Nov. 2 and will continue weekly through Dec. 14. 

“I don’t know, to my knowledge, if there are any other organizations doing this with adults in town,” said Zach Tate, an instructor of ceramics. “We thought this was a glaring need in our community to offer a space for folks to come and create and to have an opportunity to make mistakes and have fun.” 

Just Emerson, the studio technician for sculpture and ceramics, teaches the class. He also teaches ceramics for non-majors. 

“I’ve taught these kinds of classes a lot. It’s actually a little bit more comfortable for me to prepare for a class like this than it is for the non-majors,” Emerson said. “It’s a younger group who isn’t quite as interested as the people who sign up for classes like this.”

He said he will begin each class with a short demonstration of a basic form of ceramics. 

In the class, students will learn to make items such as mugs, bowls and plates. Emerson will also teach the students how to carve clay by hand and use a pottery wheel.
He added that he will accept suggestions from the class if they want to learn anything else. 

“It’s open. I don’t like to have too rigid of a schedule for people. I have a really basic guideline that I start with and then I sort of conform to how people are learning best,” Emerson said. 

Chandler Holmes, owner of Protea Salon, attends the class. 

“I love anything art-based and I’ve always been interested in pottery so I just wanted to get my hands on some pottery and learn a new skill,” Holmes said. 

Holmes attends the class with one of her friends. 

“​​We wanted to come out and have a girls’ night and just learn a skill and have some me time,” she said. 

The class is full, but Art + Design is planning to offer the class again in the winter and spring semesters. 

Tate said the Department of Art + Design may offer other types of art classes in the future. 

“We are open and interested in the community’s opinions on times they might be interested or the classes they’d be curious to take,” Tate said. “We do want to utilize our woodshop and our metal shop eventually and offer welding classes and woodworking classes too.”. 

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