Winter/Spring schedule is up!
Check out the class schedule at the top of the page and see when you can join us. Sessions have been filling quickly and the studio is bustling, so get in early!
(If you're browsing on your phone, please find the drop down menu by clicking on the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner)
Please be aware that the studio is only accessible through the back of the building now. Click on "directions" at the top of this page for more info.
Open Studio practice time is available for enrolled students-
We have three time slots:
Friday evening: 6-8 or Saturday: 9-11 or 11:30-1:30.
One time slot per week, please.
And please clean up and leave by your allotted time- our interns work hard for us and want to go home too!
Join us for the very popular Date Night!
Enjoy an evening with your favored companion in a relaxed and playful atmosphere! Learn to throw pots on the wheel with one of our very talented instructors, Helen M. Thelen or Patrick McHugh.
Your two most loved pieces will then be finished, glazed and ready for you to pick up and enjoy within 3 weeks!
Date nights are held on Saturdays, 6pm-7:30pm
$80/person ($160/couple)
Our next Date Nights will be held:
January 28th (with Helen)
February 25th (with Patrick)
April 15th (with Helen)
May 6th (with Patrick)
Date Night fills quickly!
To enroll, or add your name to the waiting list-
contact Helen at: blackcatspottery@gmail.com
contact Patrick at:
Hold your spots for Date Night with Helen (1/28 or 4/15)
$160.00
Payment must be received in advance in order to secure your spots, but please contact Helen first to be sure there's room. Thanks!
Click here to pay individually for date night with Helen:
$80.00
Hold your spots for Date Night with Patrick (2/25 or 5/6)
$160.00
Payment must be received in advance to secure your spots, but please contact Patrick first to be sure there's room. Thanks!
Click here to pay individually for date night with Patrick
$80.00
Advanced Glaze Techniques Workshop
Learn new techniques for glazing pottery!
Saturday, February 18th from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Students will be shown at least 3 glaze techniques, with the opportunity to try them out, and several other techniques will be demonstrated.
*Class is only available for current students of Northampton Pottery*
$95 per person
**Students will need at least 8 pieces to glaze, with two of them being flat pieces.**
Kris O'Neill, NohoPottery Owner
Northampton Pottery
My goal at Northampton Pottery is not only to encourage a rewarding experience in clay for people of all ages and abilities, but to cultivate an atmosphere of relaxation and creativity. I actively work to make Northampton Pottery a place where people can come to decompress and spend a little time in Lala Land with other friendly people doing the same thing.
About Kris
While art and craft has always played a large part in my life, my interest in ceramics didn’t develop until late in high school. That was when I first had access to a studio and was able to spend blissful hours after classes, absorbed in clay and insipid 80’s rock, until the janitors had to kick me out at five so they could lock up.
I went on to study ceramics at the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating with a BFA in 1990.
Settling in Western Massachusetts soon after that, I found employment at a small clay supplier and began developing my own line of ceramics, officially starting Zyra Clay Studio in 2002.
The work has changed a bit since then, becoming brighter and more consistent as I experimented with glazes and refined my throwing style.
The next chapter of my story is to share what I know with other aspiring potters in hopes they will find the same joy in clay and glazes that I do.
Classes at Northampton Pottery
I offer classes for adults and for teens (10 years plus).
The teen classes are largely self directed with me there to instruct, suggest, facilitate and encourage. Many of my kids also make use of the handbuilding facilities at NohoPo.
The adult classes are a bit more structured, at least for the people new to pottery. If that's you, be advised that the first 3 classes are the most important to attend. If you are a beginner, please don't enroll unless you plan to attend the first three classes!!
I start (after the tour and overview) with throwing bowls; a form most likely to meet with success. The ambition is to be getting a feel for the process and to produce 3 or 4 bowls on which to learn the next step.
The second class covers trimming (the finishing of the bottoms of the bowls), and a more vertical form; generally mugs.
Class 3 is quite busy. We'll trim those mugs, learn about attaching handles and also go through the glaze process on the bowls from class 1.
After that, we'll go wherever you please; plates, vases, minis off the hump, lidded forms, all is possible. It's up to you- as I tell my students, it's 10 % instruction, 90% practice!