Let’s start with a quick exercise: open up your phone and head to “Screen Time” under settings. What’s your daily average? Are you sitting somewhere between 3-4 hours or hovering more around 8-10 a day? Wherever you’re at, chances are you could probably stand to lose a few hours doom-scrolling on Instagram or Tik-Tok spiraling (I’m speaking from personal experience with a terrifying 7h 5min glaring back at me).
In our tech-obsessed society, it’s difficult to fully disconnect and tune out the outside world for even a few hours a day. That’s why picking up a hands-on hobby feels more alluring than ever. If you’ve been interested in taking a stab at pottery, we’ve rounded up the 10 best pottery classes in Los Angeles to get your hands dirty. Whether you’re looking to do some wheel throwing, hand-building or live figure sculpting, these community-oriented spaces are the perfect places to feed your newest obsession.
1. POT Studios
More than just a pottery studio, POT is a deeply intentional community space that exists to prioritize and champion people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, the youth and anyone who is often marginalized by most ceramic spaces. Both of their locations (one in Echo Park and another in Jefferson Park) are bright and welcoming spaces that instantly feel familial.
Their mission is to “cultivate pleasure, community, and new career paths in pottery for BIPOC communities while breaking opportunity cycles in our industry,” and this sense of community care is felt throughout their programming. Alongside the standard offerings of hand-building, wheel throwing and figure sculpting, you’ll find Spanish-led ceramic classes, Iranian pottery nights led by Iranian teachers and hosted for the Iranian diaspora and sculpting classes that focus on self-expression and body acceptance. In line with their mission statement, they also offer scholarships for students and members, free workshops for the community, work-trade programs and career training. Trust us — after one class, you’ll be hooked on the good energy of this place.
📍Echo Park • 1933 Echo Park Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90026
📍 Jefferson Park • 3228 W. Jefferson Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90018
2. CLAY CA
CLAY CA is a beautiful artist-run studio nestled in Chinatown that offers memberships (with 24-hour studio access), wheel throwing intensives, sculpture classes, glazing courses and coil building workshops. They also offer kiln access in case you’ve made pieces at home that need firing, charging 3 cents per cubic inch for each firing with a $25.00 minimum for all drop-offs. The space is warm and intimate, perfect for disconnecting from the constant stream of technology and tapping into your flow state.
📍 Chinatown • 900 N Broadway Suite 1080 Los Angeles, CA, 90012
3. Good Dirt LA
For those looking for a community-minded pottery studio on the westside, Good Dirt LA is the place. This woman-owned and operated space offers mixed-level classes for adults and teens, one-time introductory classes for beginners, a 6-week pottery boot camp, private at-home lessons and open studio hours. The atmosphere here is incredibly friendly and meditative, perfect for either zoning out in your work or connecting with people in the space.
📍 Marina del Rey • 4505 S Centinela Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90066
4. Throw Clay LA
Connect with your inner artist in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles at Throw Clay LA. This gorgeous studio offers hand-building and wheel throwing classes, as well as an in-depth six-week course that is required to become a member of the studio. With 7500 square feet of space, this studio is one of the biggest and most spacious on the list. If you’re looking to kickstart a pottery practice and you live in or nearby DTLA, we can’t recommend Throw Clay LA enough.
📍 Downtown Los Angeles • 1006 S Olive St, Los Angeles, CA 90015
5. Maital Ceramics Studio
A bit over 20 years ago Maital Sabban fell deeply in love with the art of clay sculpting on a trip to Egypt and never looked back. Inspired to share her passion for pottery with her community, she opened Maital Ceramics Studio in 2014 and has been offering classes in wheel throwing, sculpting, hand-building and painting for all ages. Whether you’re a complete beginner or a pottery veteran, this bright and colorful studio is the perfect place to get your hands dirty.
📍Fairfax • 649 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
6. Echo Art Studio
Art and healing combine in a magical way at Echo Art Studio in West Los Angeles. This creative studio doubles as a healing space, offering everything from watercolor, painting with acrylics, drawing, beginning and intermediate pottery classes to energy healing private sessions. The ethos at Echo Art Studio is about mindfulness and nurturing your creative spirit — regardless of whether you consider yourself an artist or not. If you’ve been meaning to lean into your creativity as an adult, but you’ve been too timid or unsure of how to begin, the welcoming and unpretentious community at Echo Art is ready and waiting.
📍West Los Angeles • 3375 Motor Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90034
7. Cobalt & Clay
This cute and cozy ceramic studio in the Silver Lake/Atwater Village area offers wheel throwing classes for beginners, private classes, a 5-day Clay Camp for kids and studio memberships. Cobalt & Clay was founded by LA-native Nicole Reyes in 2017 and is proudly woman-owned and Latina-owned. The space is intimate and community-oriented, with a distinct family feel that fills the space during classes and workshops.
Cobalt & Clay also has a small retail arm that sells wares made by Reyes herself and the rest of the instructors. From tiki mugs to ceramic pour overs, this is a great place to snag someone a sweet handmade gift.
📍 Atwater Village • 2017 Riverside Drive Los Angeles, CA 90039
8. The Pottery Studio
The Pottery Studio is a stunning, spacious space situated in Culver City (with other locations in Cypress Park and Sherman Oaks) whose classes are geared towards adults who are just starting out on their pottery journey. The Culver City outpost is a particularly inspiring studio, with giant skylights that flood the space with natural light. They offer classes in wheel throwing and hand-building, as well as studio memberships. If you happen to live around any of their locations, The Pottery Studio is a great place to get comfortable with clay.
📍 Culver City • 8455 Steller Dr, Culver City, CA 90232
📍 Cypress Park • 2808 Elm Street, Los Angeles CA 90065
📍Sherman Oaks • 14943 Califa Street, Sherman Oaks CA 91411
9. Claytivity Pottery Studio
You’ll be sure to find your pottery pals at Claytivity Pottery Studio, a community-first ceramic studio with locations in Silver Lake, Frogtown and Burbank that offers studio memberships, alongside hand-building and wheel throwing for beginners and intermediate students alike. They also regularly offer more specialized classes including a raku workshop (an ancient Japanese firing technique) and slip casting. Be sure to keep your eyes out for their pottery sales where members set up individual booths to sell their pieces.
📍 Silver Lake • 3028 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026
📍 Frogtown • 2910 Gilroy St. Los Angeles, CA 90039
📍 Burbank • 912 Isabel Street Burbank, CA 91502
10. Bitter Root Pottery
Last but not least, Bitter Root Pottery specializes in wheel throwing classes at its two locations in Culver City and Fairfax. When it comes to atmosphere, Bitter Root’s penthouse studio at their Fairfax location definitely takes the cake for most breathtaking. Find your zen while shaping your soon-to-be ceramic masterpiece against the backdrop of sweeping LA views. If you’re looking to have your romantic Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze moment a la Ghost, this is the spot.
📍 Fairfax • 7451 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
📍 Culver City • 3609 Hayden Ave, Culver City, CA 90232