Visiting Ceramic Artist Workshop: 3 Days of Clay Sculpture at BOA Academy

Recently, I completed an incredible three-day creative art residency. During this visit, I delivered a pottery workshop for students at BOA Creative, Digital, Performing Arts Academy in Birmingham. As soon as I arrived, I felt an immediate connection to the academy’s ethos. Specifically, their logo reads “imagine everything.” Consequently, this set the perfect tone for three days of hands-on sculpting.

As a professional ceramicist, bringing pottery workshops into secondary schools is deeply rewarding. In addition, I am now fully DBS certified. Therefore, art departments can book external creative workshops, artist talks, and hands-on clay masterclasses with complete confidence.

Below is a breakdown of how we structured three days of immersive clay sculpting across Year 10 and Year 11 art groups.

Day 1: Career Insights, Clay Flower People & Concept Sketches

We kicked off day one with the brand-new Year 10 cohort in the pottery studio. Although the students started out a little shy, they quickly engaged during my artist career talk. As a result, we had great discussions about my creative process and working in the creative industries.

Following the talk, I gave a live step-by-step masterclass. During this demonstration, I showed students how to sculpt my signature “Flower People” ceramic figurines.

• Morning Session: Students sculpted their own clay flower people. In doing so, they built confidence with coil techniques and flower petal creation.

• Afternoon Session: Focus shifted to creative design. Students sketched detailed proposals for a 3D relief sculpture: a full plate of food sculpted entirely from clay.

Day 2: 3D Ceramic Food Sculptures & Artist Profiles

On the second day, Year 10 put their design sheets into action inside the studio.

• Clay Relief Workshop: First, students translated their 2D illustrations into textured 3D clay plates. Thus, they built realistic details and food textures out of clay.

• Artist Profile Project: In the afternoon, students created “Artist Profile” posters analyzing my technique, career path, and ceramic style. Consequently, this combined practical sculpture with GCSE-level art analysis.

Day 3: Year 11 Sculpture & Independent Creative Expression

Day three brought in the Year 11 art students for an intensive day of high-level clay sculpting.

• Morning: A fast-paced masterclass where students produced their own variations of my flower people figures.
• Afternoon: Students took the lead on their own creative projects, working on individual clay sculptures with my help.

Book a Visiting Ceramic Artist Workshop for Your School

Hands-on art workshops give students direct exposure to professional techniques, creative industry career pathways, and confidence in three-dimensional media.

• Location: Based in Shropshire / West Midlands (available for school workshops across Birmingham, Telford, and surrounding regions).
• Compliance: Fully DBS Checked with structured lesson delivery adapted for Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 (GCSE), and Sixth Form art curricula.
• Workshop Options: Single-day masterclasses, multi-day artist residencies, career talks, and clay sculpting tutorials.

Interested in bringing a ceramic workshop to your art department? Get in touch today to discuss tailored dates and workshop formats for your students.