Wheel Throwing All Levels
Dates & Times
- 06:30 PM - 9:00 PM, 8 Mondays, Jan 5 - Feb 23, 2026, with Drew Darley
- 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM, 8 Tuesdays, Jan 6 - Feb 24, 2026, with Erika Novak
- 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM, 8 Wednesdays, Jan 7 - Feb 25, 2026, with Drew Darley
- 06:30 PM - 9:00 PM, 8 Wednesdays, Jan 7 - Feb 25, 2026, with Drew Darley
- 06:30 PM - 9:00 PM, 8 Thursdays, Jan 8 - Feb 26, 2026, with Tony Arru
Location: FVAC Annex 8D at 8 Canal Court, Unit D, Avon, CT 06001, across from FVAC campus
Minimum Age: 18
Materials fee: $33 for 25 lbs of stoneware clay payable to the instructor or with registration
Tuition: $365 includes glazes and firing, Members save 10%
Cancellation Policy
Click here for Intermediate/Advanced Wheel Throwing class on Monday at noon with Drew
Register
Class Description
LIMITED TO 8 STUDENTS! Learn a variety of wheel throwing techniques to make both functional and decorative pieces. Beginner students will learn the fundamentals of throwing and working with clay on the wheel. More experienced students will be challenged with learning to throw more complex forms and vessels. Decorating, altering, and finishing techniques will also be taught.
Tuition includes the use of the ceramic studio during an active session. Reserve Time Slot in Ceramic Studio
Materials
Download materials list here
Instructors
Erika Novak
Erika is a ceramic artist who focuses on wheel-thrown collections of pottery both functional and decorative. Her work includes a series of cups and mugs and vases, bottles, and hanging objects like lamps and planters. Erika pulls inspiration from patterns and textures found in Art deco architecture, early 20th-century design, as well as patterns found in American Southwestern textiles. After studying ceramics and art in college Erika now works as a full-time potter creating and selling her work at nationally ranked art fairs and showcases. Visit Erika's website.
Drew Darley
Drew is a full-time potter who focuses almost exclusively on wheel-thrown vessels putting a strong emphasis on a clean refined form. Drew enjoys glaze chemistry and the science behind mixing and formulating his own glazes. His current focus is on crystalline glazes. While in college Drew studied ceramics and mathematics. He found connections between the two disciplines regarding glaze calculation and form, which allows him to constantly push the materials to the limit. Visit Drew's website.
Tony Arru
At Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire, Tony became captivated by the smell and feel of the fire from the raku kiln, sparking his lifelong passion for pottery. While there, he also fired their five-chamber wood-fired kiln, or "noborigama," and a wood-fired salt kiln, deepening his interest in the craft.
After earning a BA in Fine Art, Tony apprenticed at Cornwall Bridge Pottery in Connecticut under master potter Todd Piker, who had trained in England with Michael Cardew. Over 2 ½ years, Tony honed his skills in throwing English-style pottery, firing a 35-foot wood-fired tube kiln ("anagama"), and decorative techniques. Now, as an art teacher at Cheshire High School, Junkpot Studio, and FVAC, he shares his passion with many students each year.

