Looking for a new craft hobby to try… also thoughts on pottery classes?
I love scrapbooking, simple sewing, and lots of odds and ends projects. I would love to try pottery… but it is soo expensive just to take classes. So I have a couple questions:
1) Are pottery classes worth the money? Are they fun?
2) What other hobbies or classes should I try?
Suggested Reading:
Alternative Kilns & Firing Techniques: Raku * Saggar * Pit * Barrel (A Lark Ceramics Book)Ceramicists searching for new ways to fire their creations now have a wealth of options. Authors James Watkins and Paul Wandless, along with a group o... Read More >
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Have you tried cardmaking or scrapbooking. I have a forum at http://tjturnerpapercrafts.freeforums.org/index.phpif you want to check it out. It is on papercrafts ie. cardmaking and scrapbooking
If you’re not just passionate about doing pottery, it’s probably not the best thing to pursue because of the expense for all the equipment (or having to go places for firing, etc), and space for supplies, etc. It might be fun just to take a class though, without expecting to really get into it.
You might want to check out polymer clay though (or even “air-dry” clays, though they can’t do as much stuff as polymer clays–they’re still fun though).
Both could also be used to make things for your scrapbooking, as well as in many other ways. For example, polymer clay can also be used to make vessels of various types (and sizes from miniature to large, depending on techniques used), as well as more other things than you probably imagine …check out this page to see a summary of the kinds of things it can be used for:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/info_letter.htm (click on *What All Can Be Done With Polymer Clay Anyway?*)
And for items to use in scrapbooking in particular, check out this page:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/cards.htm (click on *Greeting Cards + Scrapbooking*)
And polymer clay can also be used in sewing, etc, to make buttons, or other embellishments, etc… here’s the page on making your own buttons for example:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/buttons.htm
For lessons, examples, tips, etc., on doing all the other things in polymer clay (plus ‘the basics” of working with it), browse all the way down the “Table of Contents” page for the site (my site), then go to any of the pages by clicking on its name inside the alphabetical navigation bar:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/contents.htm
For all kinds of other crafts, check out some of the crafts forums too… e.g., Craftster has message boards for all kinds of crafts:
some examples:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?action=bestof2008
all their craft forums (click on each for *many* sub-boards under each board as well):
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php …look down on the right
Also, for figuring out what you might be interested in to pursue as a hobby or occasional activity, you might also want to read my response in this previous question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiLcvLJE3N9fOMRDQxJ2N6jsy6IX?qid=20061215084652AAaHu8b
HTH,
Diane B.
Pottery classes are fun if you enjoy being messy and playing in mud. It also smells , and most classes usually only have ugly glazes available. A lot of people really enjoy making ceramics. I had to take two semesters of it for my BFA and I hated every minute of it. The throwing class I had to take made me cry (I was not the first sobbing student the kind and understanding professor had ever had, either). I mean, it’s nice eating out of bowls I made myself, but it wasn’t really worth it for me. Then again, I’ve had friends who loved it.
You’ve mentioned an interest in sewing, so I’d like to recommend other textile crafts. Textiles tends to be less expensive than some areas (jewelry and photography come to mind), although you can make it expensive. A local yarn shop will almost certainly have knitting and crochet classes. Many also offer felting (make sure it’s wet or needle felting, not felting knitted objects), which is super fun. You might also be able to find someplace that offers spinning lessons–if done with a drop spindle, this one is quite cheap. A second area to check out (and yeah, I’m still catering to my own hobbies here) would be jewelry making. Bead shops offer beading classes, but some schools offer classes in actual jewelry making (you know, with the soldering and the metal and the stone setting and such).