Wheel Throwing: Succulent Pots
Wheel Throwing: Succulent Pots
Date and Time: Five consecutive Fridays: October 2, October 9, October 16, October 23 & October 30 2026
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Teaching Artist: Jeanette Villegas
Cost: $185 for all five sessions
Create your very own ceramic succulent pot with teaching artist Jeanette Villegas! Designed for intermediate throwers who already know their way around the wheel, this course dives deeper into working with larger volumes of clay and perfecting two-piece forms.
What You’ll Learn & Create
Master Larger Forms: Practice centering and throwing 2.5 lbs of clay or more to build bigger, bolder shapes.
Craft Functional Planters: Shape 2 custom ceramic pots, complete with your choice of attached or separate drainage saucers.
Refine & Detail: Learn the art of trimming drainage holes at the leather-hard stage to ensure your plants thrive.
Surface Design & Glazing: Bring your pottery to life using creative texturing methods and vibrant glazing techniques.
The Grand Finale: Plant & Take Home!
Your creation isn't finished when it leaves the kiln—it's finished when it grows! At the end of the course, you'll select from a variety of succulents to plant directly into your brand-new handmade pots. We'll send you home with full care instructions to keep your new green companions thriving.
Prerequisite: Previous wheel-throwing and centering experience is required.
Class Outline
Day 1 - Demo and begin throwing pots with saucers
Day 2 - Continue throwing pots with saucers
Day 3 - Trimming
Day 4 - Glazing
Day 5 - Planting (plants & soil provided) and discussion of succulent care
If you have any additional questions about the course you can email us at ceramics@santapaulaartmuseum.org
This class is for ages 16 and over and is scheduled for five consecutive Fridays: October 2, October 9, October 16, October 23 & October 30 2026, from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. The cost of class is $185 per person. All materials are provided. Preregistration is required and space is limited. The course will be held inside the Cole Creativity Center located at 123 N 10th St, Santa Paula, CA. Free parking is available directly behind the building and students may enter through the front or back door.
All 5-week courses include free practice time each week during the duration of your class. Practice times are held on Wednesdays & Fridays and must be scheduled and approved by Jynell our Kiln Technician. This resource is available to current students only and space is granted on a first come, first serve basis.
Questions? Please call the Museum at (805) 525-5554 ext. 104 or email creativity@santapaulaartmuseum.org.
*Please note: Long nails can make working with clay frustrating. We recommend trimming your nails down before attending class. Clay is also very messy, so please dress in clothing you don’t mind getting stained and covered in clay. You are welcome to bring an apron and towel/rag for wiping your hands throughout the process. Long hair must be pulled back as a safety precaution.
About Our Teaching Artist:
Jeanette is someone who is almost always covered in mud—specifically soil and clay! A lifelong gardener, her journey with clay began when she took a ceramics class with her daughter. That experience sparked a passion first for wheel-throwing, and soon after, for hand-building.
Whether working at Ventura College, the Santa Paula Art Museum’s Cole Creative Center, or her home studio in Camarillo, California, Jeanette thrives in the hands-on process of making. She is fascinated by how different clay bodies behave on the wheel and delights in developing unique methods to create both artistic and functional ceramics. When she isn't in the studio, she can often be found out in nature, hunting for raw materials or studying plant life.
At the heart of Jeanette's work is the translation of energy and movement into a solid, enduring object. Her goal is to craft pieces that tell the story of their own creation—capturing fluidity, grace, and potential within a still form. She explores these concepts through the contrast of positive and negative space, playing with silhouette, color, and texture.
Connecting her twin passions, Jeanette loves creating pottery specifically for plants, currently focusing on vessels for succulents and kokedama. For her, bringing clay and soil together—and sharing her creations as living plants grow inside them—is a source of endless joy.