Come Play With Clay
Pottery workshops with personality.
Relaxed, beginner-friendly clay workshops on the Sunshine Coast. Come with friends, bring your favourite people, or join a public workshop and meet some new ones.
No pottery experience required.
Make Your Own Highland Cow
Welcome to the herd.Meet the slightly chaotic heart of Unruly Clay. In this beginner-friendly workshop, you’ll hand-build your own ceramic Highland cow from clay — complete with shaggy fringe, expressive horns and whatever personality emerges along the way.
Some look mildly concerned.
A few have definitely seen things.
That’s part of the fun.
No experience required. Personality encouraged.
From lump of clay to bonnie wee coo
Pottery takes a little patience — here’s the journey your cow goes on.
Build Your Coo
Hand-build your Highland cow during the workshop.
First Firing
Your cow dries completely and goes through her first kiln firing.
Come Back & Glaze
Return for a glazing session and choose your cow’s colours and finishing touches.
Final Firing
Your cow goes back into the kiln.
Welcome Her Home
Collect your finished ceramic Highland cow.
Bring nothing but yourself
Workshop pricing covers everything you need from first pinch to final firing:
- Clay
- Use of pottery tools
- Step-by-step instruction
- First workshop / building session
- Glazing session
- Glazes
- Bisque firing
- Final glaze firing
Good things take time
Pottery is a wonderfully slow process. Your piece needs to dry, be fired, be glazed and be fired again — so finished pieces aren’t available immediately after the first workshop. Think of it as delayed gratification with horns.
If you have hands, you qualify
Complete beginners
Our favourite kind of potter. If you’ve never touched clay, you’re exactly who these workshops are for.
Friends
Looking for something different to do together that isn’t dinner and a movie? Clay it is.
Birthdays
Celebrate with something you get to keep — a herd of slightly wonky cows beats a hangover.
Small private groups
Book a session just for your crew and keep the chaos in the family.
Social groups
Book clubs, craft groups, colleagues who’ve become friends — everyone’s welcome around the clay table.
Team building & workplace wellbeing
Get the team off their screens and into something hands-on, relaxed and surprisingly good for morale.
Want the herd to come to you?
Unruly Clay offers private pottery workshops for groups — and may be able to bring the workshop to your home, workplace or a suitable venue on the Sunshine Coast.
Every group is a bit different, so get in touch with what you have in mind and we’ll work out the details together.
Enquire About a Private Workshop
Grab a spot
New workshop dates coming soon
Join the herd and be the first to hear about upcoming workshops.
Register Your InterestMeet the Herd
Same clay. Same instructions. Absolutely no chance of getting the same cow.
FAQ
Do I need pottery experience?
Not even a little bit. Workshops are designed for complete beginners, with step-by-step guidance the whole way through. If you can squish clay, you’re qualified.
What should I wear?
Comfortable clothes you don’t mind getting a bit of clay on. Clay is a friendly kind of messy — it brushes off most things once dry — but maybe leave the white linen at home.
What is included?
Everything: clay, tools, step-by-step instruction, your building session, your glazing session, glazes, and both kiln firings. You just bring yourself.
How long does the workshop take?
The building session runs for around three hours — enough time to build your piece without feeling rushed, with plenty of room for chatting.
Why are there two sessions?
Clay has its own schedule. After you build your piece it needs to dry completely and go through a first kiln firing before it can be glazed. So you’ll come back for a second session — usually about four weeks later — to glaze your piece and give it its finishing touches.
When will my pottery be ready?
After your glazing session, your piece goes through its final firing. Once it’s out of the kiln and looking wonderful, you’ll be contacted to collect it. Pottery is a slow craft — but that first glimpse of your finished piece is worth the wait.
Can I book a private group?
Yes! Private workshops for groups are available — birthdays, friends, social groups, workplaces. Get in touch with what you have in mind and we’ll work out the details together.
Do you offer mobile workshops?
Unruly Clay may be able to bring the workshop to your home, workplace or a suitable venue on the Sunshine Coast. This is a newer offering, so enquire with your location and group in mind and we’ll see what’s possible.
Where are workshops held?
Workshop locations are on the Sunshine Coast and are confirmed with each workshop — the venue is listed with every public date, and private groups can discuss location when booking.
What happens if my pottery cracks or breaks during firing?
Very occasionally, clay does its own thing. Drying and firing put pottery through big changes, and sometimes a piece cracks or behaves unpredictably in the kiln — it’s part of the nature of handmade ceramics, and it can happen even to experienced potters. If it happens to your piece, get in touch and we’ll talk about it — you won’t just be left with a sad cow.
Ready to join the herd?
Come make something wonderfully imperfect.
May your coo be bonnie and your clay behave itself.