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Handbuilding Pottery for Beginners is an online workshop at TeachinArt, presented by Antoinette Badenhorst. Learn the essentials of shaping clay by hand in a clear, supportive way. This beginner-friendly class introduces simple handbuilding techniques, creative forms, and practical tips to help you build confidence from your very first piece.
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Throwing porcelain dinner sets include the design considerations, throwing and trimming on the wheel, altering processes as well as glazing mixing and firing considerations. Students learn how to make different mug shapes, goblets, tumblers. Antoinette teaches how to make pie dishes, different bowls like cereal and salad bowls, plates, platters and lidded casseroles. She explains how to prevent cracks and hand out many tips and techniques.
Image:Learn how to create fine translucent wine goblets on a pottery wheel.
Preview of some of our virtual and hands - on pottery and porcelain classes with Antoinette1/15/2026 TeachinArt, an online school of ceramics and art, was founded in 2014 by Koos and Antoinette Badenhorst. They started with online pottery instruction and have since expanded their offerings to include numerous classes and instructors. Our detailed pottery video lessons are available at affordable prices, allowing students from all over the world to participate in our workshops. Our school’s motto, “From the artist to the artist,” reflects our commitment to fostering a community of artists. You can watch our videos anytime of the day, from any technological platform of your choice, regardless of your location. See more about Antoinette's online workshops at TeachinArt online workshops. Antoinette Badenhorst presents a wide range of professional online pottery and porcelain workshops through TeachinArt, the online school of art she co-founded with Koos Badenhorst. Her classes focus on porcelain, handbuilding, wheel throwing, glazing, design, and technical ceramic skills for beginners through advanced potters.
Popular workshops include:
Antoinette is widely recognized for her detailed instruction on translucent porcelain, often referred to in her teaching as the “Diva of Clay.” Her online workshops combine close-up demonstrations, professional studio techniques, design principles, firing methods, and direct interaction with students. The TeachinArt format allows students to learn at their own pace through professionally recorded video lessons while maintaining direct access to the instructor for questions and guidance throughout the course. Antoinette has several video clips that are extracts from her online pottery workshops. In this video she show how important the drying phases of the clay is when considering carving into the clay. Translucency in the porcelain clay is the result of fine carving into the clay. Scroll down for more demonstrations. This video of Antoinette was recorded during her hands-on workshop at the Pottery Studio in Bryanston in South Africa. She shows how to throw a big porcelain bowl on the pottery wheel, add more clay to it, cut and carve it and alter it to get translucency. Antoinette's Gallery, hands-on workshops and e-courses
All our e-courses at TeachinArt.com online art school See Antoinette's blog index
Antoinette Badenhorst teaches the “Bull’s Head” wedging method as a practical and efficient way to prepare clay for handbuilding and wheel throwing. Named after the shape the clay forms during the process, this wedging technique helps align clay particles, remove air pockets, and create an even moisture consistency throughout the clay body.
In the Bull’s Head method, the clay is rhythmically pushed forward and folded inward in a controlled motion that resembles the shape of a bull’s head with two curved sides. The process develops strength and consistency in the clay while minimizing trapped air bubbles that can cause problems during forming or firing. Antoinette emphasizes proper body posture, hand placement, and movement to reduce strain on the wrists and shoulders while improving efficiency. In her teaching, she often explains that wedging is one of the most important foundational skills in ceramics because well-prepared clay responds better during shaping and firing. Her approach combines technical discipline with studio practicality, making the Bull’s Head wedging method especially valuable for beginners learning clay preparation as well as experienced potters working with porcelain and other sensitive clay bodies. Clay wedging is explained and demonstrated in one of Antoinette's online classes. Students learn in these porcelain e-courses how to wedge clay, throw on the wheel, trimming techniques, hand building and many more about porcelain, the Diva of clay. This video shows how Antoinette wedges clay and is a snippet from her Understanding Porcelain online workshop at TeachinArt.
I had several people asking me how I create porcelain vessels over a balloon. Some potters create these vessels with slip, some create them and it leaves thick patches. In this video, I show you how I create them to where they are perfectly smooth. It can be used for sculptural, as well as functional work.
How to put a foot rim on a balloon bowl
Once the bowl is removed from the balloon, the placement of a foot rim can be marked out and a coil, pinched or wheel thrown rim can be placed on the bowl. This can be a small foot rim or a tall pedestal. Click the button below to see and read more about foot rims
Below are links to some of the online workshops that Antoinette Badenhorst presents. Click on the button to go to the content and registration page.
How to throw a slab of clay.
A slab of clay can be easy to make, but potters are not always successful, because they do not always follow the rules. Click the button below to see and read more about making slabs.
Can balloon bowls be functional and used for dinnerware?
It all depends on what you do and how you want to present it. Click on the link below to learn more about the hand building dinnerware e course.
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In her porcelain workshops at TeachinArt, Antoinette Badenhorst demonstrates how excessive water during wheel throwing can quickly cause porcelain clay - which she calls the “Diva of Clay” - to weaken and collapse.
Porcelain requires careful moisture control because of its fine particle structure and delicate balance between strength and softness. During wheel throwing, too much water can oversaturate the clay body, reducing stability and making walls soft, uneven, or unable to support their own weight. Antoinette explains how beginners often rely on excess water while centering and pulling clay, not realizing that porcelain absorbs moisture rapidly. As the clay becomes overly saturated, forms begin to slump, lose definition, or completely collapse on the wheel. In her demonstrations, students learn:
Through detailed online instruction, Antoinette helps potters understand not only how porcelain behaves, but why proper technique is essential for successful wheel-thrown ceramics. Antoinette Badenhorst interviews internationally respected ceramic artist Michael Schwegmann in a thoughtful discussion about functional pottery, craftsmanship, kiln firing, teaching, and artistic growth. Known for his expressive surfaces, wood firing expertise, and dedication to studio pottery, Michael shares insights into creative discipline, clay preparation, form development, and building a lifelong career in ceramics. This inspiring interview explores the philosophy, techniques, and passion behind professional pottery and ceramic education. Michael Schwegmann is an award winning porcelain artist who came from a heritage of craftsmen.
Through his porcelain clay processes he tells stories about tradesman, their tools and machinery. Empty paint cans become canvasses through which he stages the finished job and the worker. He opens up conversations with his patriotic objects about the US flag and military equipment. Bradley Gordon is a wildlife painter from Oxford Mississippi. He exhibited his colorful paintings in the Gumtree Museum of Art in Tupelo, Mississippi - the birthplace of Elvis Presley. His art is inspired by Japanese Pop Art and is enriched by his upbringing in the Mississippi Delta. Gordon studied at the University of Mississippi in Oxford and taught English in Taiwan and Japan. |
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