← Guides

Pottery classes in NYC: what a term actually costs

Ten studios across all five boroughs, with the term price, the per-session cost, and the fees that appear after you have already paid. Every figure was read from the studio's own website in August 2026. Where a studio publishes no price, this page says so rather than guessing.

10
studios read
5
boroughs covered
$31.25
cheapest per session
$77.50
dearest per session

The number on the booking page is not the number you pay

Almost every roundup of pottery classes in New York prints one figure per studio and stops. That figure is the tuition. What it leaves out is that at several of these studios you are also billed for firing, by volume, after the term has started — and that a semester's worth of mugs is a real second bill, not a rounding error.

BKLYN CLAY charges 5 cents per cubic inch for both firings, half that if you only bisque, and porcelain is $20 a bag on top. Gasworks charges 3.5 cents per cubic inch on its class page — its membership page says 3 cents, which is the sort of discrepancy worth asking about before you commit. BrickHouse sells the tool kit separately at $20 for wheel or $22 for handbuilding, handed to you at the first class. None of that is hidden, exactly; it is simply on a different page from the one you booked through.

The other omission is practice time. A three-hour class a week is not enough to get good, and what a studio charges to let you back in on a Tuesday afternoon varies more than tuition does: BrickHouse asks $50 for unlimited bench time, Gasworks runs a $225-a-month membership with 6 am to 10 pm access on a three-month minimum, and Greenwich House folds independent studio sessions into the class fee and hands them over as discount codes.

What it actually costs, ranked

Per-session cost is arithmetic we have done, not a number any studio prints — and it is the only way to compare a four-week course against a twelve-week semester honestly. One caveat worth stating before you read the column: Gasworks sells its semester on a sliding scale of $75, $375 or $675, so it has three per-session prices rather than one. The table shows the middle of them.

StudioBoroughAs printedPer session
Gasworks NYCBrooklyn$75 (Seeding) · $375 (Sustaining) · $675 (Generating)$31.25standard tier · $6.25–$56.25 across the scale
Bronx River Art CenterThe Bronx$294 for the term ($42 per class); handbuilding for families $245 ($35 per class)$42
Mud MattersManhattan$248 for 4 weeks · $310 for 5 · $372 for 6$62
La Mano PotteryManhattan$248 for 4 weeks · $310 for 5 · $372 for 6$62
BrickHouse Ceramic Art CenterQueensFrom $440 to $615 depending on the section$62.86cheapest section · up to $87.86
Choplet Ceramic StudioBrooklyn$420–$750 for a 6 or 12-week session · $90 for a one-day wheel workshop or Sip & Spin$70the 6-week · the 12-week is $62.50
Silk Road Ceramics StudioStaten Island$85 for a Try-It session · $55 for the one-hour Spin ’n Splash · $420 for six weeks$70
Greenwich House PotteryManhattanFrom $310 (4 classes) to $1,015 (13 classes), depending on the section$77.50
BKLYN CLAYBrooklynNot published—
Clay and Kiln StudioStaten IslandNot published—

Where a studio runs a sliding scale, the figure is its standard tier and the full range is printed beneath it — the floor of a scale is a real price but not a comparable one. Firing, clay and tools are extra at the studios listed in the next table.

The fees that arrive later

StudioFiring, as printed
Gasworks NYC3.5 cents per cubic inch on the class page; the membership page says 3 cents — worth confirming which applies to you
BKLYN CLAY5 cents per cubic inch for both firings, half that for one only. Bisque is fired at cone 06, glaze at cones 04, 6 and 10
Clay and Kiln StudioIncluded

The studios not in this table do not publish a firing rate on their public pages. That is not the same as firing being free — it is worth asking on day one.

The cheapest ways into clay in New York

Cheapest, if you can pay less
Gasworks NYC in Greenwood Heights sells its twelve-week semester on a sliding scale — $75, $375 or $675, which is about $6, $31 or $56 a session. The studio asks you to consult its scale chart to work out which stream fits your circumstances; it does not ask for proof. Even the middle tier is the cheapest wheel course in the city, so the floor is a bonus rather than the reason to go.
Cheapest single price
Bronx River Art Center: $294 for a seven-week adult term, $42 a session, on the 2 and 5 at West Farms Square. One price, no tiers, nothing to work out.
Cheapest way to try it once
Silk Road on Staten Island at $55 for an hour, or Choplet in Greenpoint at $90 for a Saturday, both with the firing done for you.
Cheapest practice time
BrickHouse in Long Island City: $50 for unlimited bench time, bought separately from the class.

Registration is the real barrier, not money

The studios with the best reputations do not sell out because they are expensive. They sell out because a few hundred people are watching the same page. Greenwich House opened autumn registration at noon on Monday 17 August for a term that starts on 9 September — three weeks of lead time, and the beginner sections are the first to go. BKLYN CLAY opens to existing students before the public, and its public window has previously opened at 8 pm, which is not an accident.

If you are trying to start this month rather than next term, the studios that can actually take you are the ones running short formats: Mud Matters and La Mano at four weeks, Choplet and Silk Road at one day, and BrickHouse's seven-week sessions, which start again on 3 November.

Every studio, in detail

Ordered by borough, then by how much of their pricing they publish. Blank fields mean the studio does not say, not that the answer is zero.

Gasworks NYC

Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn

$75 (Seeding) · $375 (Sustaining) · $675 (Generating)

Still the cheapest wheel course in the city at the standard tier, and the only one that lets you decide what you pay. The twelve weeks are $75, $375 or $675 — about $6, $31 or $56 a session — and Gasworks asks you to consult its sliding-scale chart to work out which stream fits your circumstances rather than simply picking the lowest. No proof or paperwork is mentioned anywhere on the page. Read the $6 figure as the floor of a scale, not as the price of the course.

Format
12-week course (14 September – 6 December)
Beginners
Yes — Clay For The People is written for people who have never centred clay
Clay & glazes
Over 50 custom glazes, Shimpo wheels, slab roller, extruder and community tools; clay bought separately
Firing
3.5 cents per cubic inch on the class page; the membership page says 3 cents — worth confirming which applies to you
Studio access
Open studio 6 am–10 pm. Membership $225/month plus tax on a three-month minimum, including 24/7 code access and a private shelf; a Lite tier at $150/month includes 50 lb of clay
Getting there
R to Prospect Av, or D, N, R to 25 St
Address
673 Fifth Ave, Brooklyn, NY
Their own page ↗What's on there

Bronx River Art Center

West Farms, The Bronx

$294 for the term ($42 per class); handbuilding for families $245 ($35 per class)

The lowest fixed per-session price in the city, and one of very few clay courses that will take a parent and a child in the same room. The Bronx is where the aggregators stop looking, which is exactly why it is cheap.

Format
7-week adult term, Thursday evenings
Beginners
Yes
Getting there
2 or 5 to West Farms Square–East Tremont Av
Address
1087 E Tremont Ave, Bronx, NY 10460
Their own page ↗What's on there

Mud Matters

Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan

$248 for 4 weeks · $310 for 5 · $372 for 6

Half of a two-studio school with La Mano in Chelsea, at identical prices. Buying by the shortest term is the cheapest way to find out whether you like clay at all: $248 for four three-hour sessions.

Format
4–6 week courses, one three-hour session a week
Beginners
Mostly — but the Monday 6:15 pm wheel course is reserved for students who have thrown before, which the studio states and the aggregators do not
Clay & glazes
Demonstration, instruction and practice time
Studio access
Studio hours most days (Sun 1:30–5:30, Mon 6–9, Tue 1:30–4:30 and 6–9, Wed 5–9, Thu 5:30–9, Fri 10–8:30, Sat 10:30–6). Membership exists for experienced potters; the price is not published
Getting there
A, C, E to 42 St–Port Authority, then west
Address
654 10th Ave, New York, NY 10036
Their own page ↗What's on there

La Mano Pottery

Chelsea, Manhattan

$248 for 4 weeks · $310 for 5 · $372 for 6

Mud Matters’ sister studio, same structure and same prices, twenty blocks south. If one term is full it is worth checking the other before paying more elsewhere — a trick that only works if you know they are the same school.

Format
4–6 week courses, one three-hour session a week
Beginners
Yes — the multi-week courses are written for beginner and intermediate potters
Clay & glazes
Demonstration, instruction and practice time
Studio access
Membership offered; the price is not published on the public pages
Getting there
1 to 28 St, or N, R, W to 28 St
Address
110 W 26th St, New York, NY 10001
Their own page ↗What's on there

BrickHouse Ceramic Art Center

Long Island City, Queens

From $440 to $615 depending on the section

The clearest pricing of any studio here: the class, the bench time and the tools are three separate line items you can see before you pay. $50 for unlimited bench time is the cheapest practice access in the city by a wide margin.

Format
7-week sessions (15 Sep – 27 Oct, then 3 Nov – 15 Dec)
Beginners
Yes, and it runs Sunday kids’ handbuilding for ages 8 and up from $280 for nine sessions
Tool kit
Wheel-throwing kit $20 · handbuilding kit $22, handed over at the first class
Studio access
Unlimited Benchtime $50; lockers rented separately
Getting there
7 to Vernon Blvd–Jackson Av, or E, M, G to Court Sq
Address
10-34 44th Dr, Long Island City, NY 11101
Their own page ↗What's on there

Choplet Ceramic Studio

Greenpoint, Brooklyn

$420–$750 for a 6 or 12-week session · $90 for a one-day wheel workshop or Sip & Spin

The most flexible entry point in north Brooklyn: $90 buys a Saturday at the wheel with no term commitment, and the same studio will take you through twelve weeks if you like it. Also runs a $500 raku workshop, which almost nobody in the city teaches.

Format
6 and 12-week sessions; one-day workshops at weekends
Beginners
Yes — the one-day wheel workshop and Sip & Spin are both built for first-timers
Getting there
G to Greenpoint Av
Address
121 Meserole Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
Their own page ↗What's on there

Silk Road Ceramics Studio

New Brighton, Staten Island

$85 for a Try-It session · $55 for the one-hour Spin ’n Splash · $420 for six weeks

The only wheel studio on Staten Island that we can find publishing a public timetable, which makes it the only entry on this page for half a million people. Every roundup of “pottery classes in NYC” we have read omits the borough entirely.

Format
90-minute Try-It sessions several days a week; 6-week courses
Beginners
Explicitly — the studio’s own line is “No experience needed. Just show up and learn.”
Clay & glazes
The Try-It price covers one-to-one help at the wheel and the studio trims, glazes and fires the piece for you
Getting there
Staten Island Ferry, then the S40 along Richmond Terrace
Address
772 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301
Their own page ↗What's on there

BKLYN CLAY

South Slope / Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn

The studio does not publish a price on its public pages.

The largest teaching studio on this list and the hardest to get into. BKLYN CLAY does not print a current semester price on the pages we can read, which is unusual for a studio this size; the firing rate is published clearly, and at 5 cents per cubic inch a term of mugs is a real second bill.

Format
12-week semesters
Beginners
Yes — Wheel Throwing for Beginners and Handbuilding for Beginners both run each semester
Clay & glazes
Studio clay bodies and glazes; porcelain is extra at $20 a bag
Firing
5 cents per cubic inch for both firings, half that for one only. Bisque is fired at cone 06, glaze at cones 04, 6 and 10
Studio access
Membership includes a private shelf and a personal door code for 24/7 open studio access
Registration
Terms open to existing students about a week before the general public, and the public window has previously opened at 8 pm — the popular sections go the same evening
Getting there
R to Prospect Av
Address
673 5th Ave (at 20th St), Brooklyn, NY
Their own page ↗What's on there

Greenwich House Pottery

West Village and Chelsea, Manhattan

From $310 (4 classes) to $1,015 (13 classes), depending on the section

The oldest community pottery in the city, teaching clay since 1909, and priced accordingly. Two buildings, West Village and Chelsea, and the section you want determines the price more than the level does — a four-class section is $310, a thirteen-class one is $1,015, and the per-session cost is nearly identical.

Format
Autumn term, 9 September – 11 December, in sections of 4 to 13 classes
Beginners
Yes — Beginning Wheel Throwing (W2) and Beginning Handbuilding (H2)
Clay & glazes
Studio sessions for independent practice outside class time, issued as discount codes when you register
Studio access
Independent practice sessions come with class registration rather than being bought separately
Registration
Autumn registration opened on Monday 17 August at 12 noon for a term starting 9 September
Getting there
A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W 4 St–Washington Sq, or 1 to Christopher St
Address
16 Jones St, New York, NY 10014
Their own page ↗What's on there

Clay and Kiln Studio

West Brighton, Staten Island

The studio does not publish a price on its public pages.

Painting on bisque rather than throwing — no wheel here. Worth knowing about because it is the only drop-in ceramics of any kind on Staten Island, and it takes children.

Format
Drop-in Open Paint, most days
Beginners
Yes, and no booking needed
Clay & glazes
The studio says the price is all-inclusive with no separate studio fee, but does not print a figure
Firing
Included
Studio access
Open Paint: Mon 11–5, Thu–Fri 1–9, Sat 11–7, Sun 11–6; closed Tue and Wed
Getting there
Staten Island Ferry, then the S46 or S48
Address
West Brighton, Staten Island, NY
Their own page ↗What's on there

Questions people ask

How much is a pottery class in NYC?＋
Between about $6 and $78 a session, which is a wider range than any other craft in the city. Gasworks NYC in Greenwood Heights runs a sliding scale from $75 for a twelve-week course; Bronx River Art Center charges $42 a session; the Manhattan studios run $62 to $78. A single taster session is $55 to $90. On top of tuition, several studios bill firing by volume — 3 to 5 cents per cubic inch — and sell tool kits at $20 to $22.
Which pottery studios in New York take complete beginners?＋
All of them except one specific slot: Mud Matters keeps its Monday 6:15 pm wheel course for students who have thrown before. Everywhere else on this page runs a named beginner course — Greenwich House has Beginning Wheel Throwing (W2) and Beginning Handbuilding (H2), BKLYN CLAY runs both each semester, and Silk Road on Staten Island states plainly that no experience is needed.
Is there a pottery class on Staten Island?＋
Yes, two, which is two more than most roundups of the city list. Silk Road Ceramics at 772 Richmond Terrace runs 90-minute Try-It wheel sessions at $85 several days a week and six-week courses at $420. Clay and Kiln in West Brighton is paint-your-own rather than wheel, with drop-in Open Paint most days and no booking.
What is a firing fee and will I have to pay one?＋
Studios that fire your work in their own kilns often charge by the volume of the piece rather than by the hour of kiln time — typically 3 to 5 cents per cubic inch, sometimes doubled because most work is fired twice. A mug is a couple of dollars. A term of ambitious bowls is not. BKLYN CLAY and Gasworks both publish their rates; several studios on this page do not publish one at all, which is the first thing to ask.
Can I practise outside class time?＋
It depends and it matters more than tuition. BrickHouse sells unlimited bench time at $50. Gasworks runs a $225-a-month membership on a three-month minimum with 6 am to 10 pm access, and a $150 Lite tier that includes 50 lb of clay. Greenwich House includes independent studio sessions with class registration. Mud Matters and La Mano both offer memberships for experienced potters but do not publish the price.

How this page was made, and who made it

Every figure above was read from the studio's own website in August 2026 — not from an aggregator, not from another guide. Where two pages on the same site disagreed, both are reported. Where a studio publishes nothing, the field is blank rather than filled with a plausible number.

This site is published by KraftStories, a craft studio in the Financial District, which is disclosed on every page. KraftStories teaches an air-dry clay workshop and does not fire, so it is not a competitor to anything on this list and is not on it. The studios above are listed on their own merits and in order of price, including the ones cheaper than anything we sell. Our editorial standards spell out the rest.

Next

🏺 Pottery classes on now💸 Craft classes under $50🧰 All classes & workshops🆓 Free craft & making📍 Every venue

Prices verified August 2026. Studios change their fees between terms — if you find a figure here that is wrong, tell us and we will re-read the source rather than take the correction at face value. Send a correction.