Welcome to the Ceramics Studio at Community School of Music & Arts in Mountain View, CA!
There’s a reason why wheel-thrown ceramics and hand-built pottery classes are the most popular art medium at CSMA—it’s not only fun to play and create with clay, but the results are useful and beautiful. Ceramics is challenging enough to be a lifelong pursuit but accessible enough that even young kids can produce memorable pieces. With a dozen dipping glazes and a rainbow of underglaze brush-on glazes for surface decoration, there’s no limit to the variety our students produce.
Highlights of our program include:
Clays, glazes and tools: Materials are included with tuition! We use mid-fire clay bodies including b-mix, speckled buff and our studio-made reclaim clay that is a mixture of the two. We primarily use Western brand glazes along with Mayco Stroke and Coat. Tools are provided.
Studio and Kilns: CSMA has a large, bright ceramics studio equipped with a dozen wheels, handbuilding and wedging tables, a slab roller, and plentiful racks for student work. We have two onsite electric Skutt kilns to bisque and glaze fire work to Cone 5, a mid-range temperature. A professional ceramics studio technician manages student pottery and ensures each piece is treated with care. In 2024, CSMA processed 568 bags of clay (14,200 lbs or 7 tons) and served almost 500 students!
Ceramics faculty: Our ceramics teachers are experts in their field. We employ professional ceramic artists with significant experience and dedication to introducing students to the techniques and artistry of pottery. Classes are designed to serve students of all ages and levels. Longtime teacher Eliza Thomas said, “One of the things I find delightful about teaching at CSMA is the strength of the commitment to student growth. Students develop their skills and ideas at individual rates, and our program is designed to accommodate a wide range of learning styles, giving everyone access to the arts!”
Our unique approach: CSMA differs from other ceramics studios in some key ways. We have a robust child and teen ceramic program serving 8 to 18-year-old students. We offer longer class options (up to 12 weeks) than most other studios, allowing students uninterrupted time to develop mastery. In addition, students have three types of clay to choose from, while other studios limit beginner students to only one type. Students especially appreciate the fact that all materials are included in tuition, so there are no extra fees for clay, glazes, or tools, and students can use as much clay as they like.
Many students take pottery classes with us for multiple sessions and even multiple years. They enjoy the camaraderie, flexibility, and professionalism of the studio. One student potter said, “I’ve been taking ceramics here for almost 5 years, and I enjoy the creativity of the classes. Students can work on whatever projects interest them, and the teachers are so experienced that they can advise you on virtually anything. One session, I decided to work on expanding my use of ceramics tools, and the teacher brought in specialized ribs from her own studio for me to try out. In another session, I focused on surface decoration, and everything I needed was right there.”
Interested in trying it out for yourself? We offer year-round sessions of ceramics programming for ages 8-adult, mornings, afternoons, and evenings six days a week.
