City of Orlando - Pottery Studio — Attraction in Orlando

This place is beautiful on the inside and the staff seem friendly enough, but if it’s being funded by the city or state, and it’s “for the people” you really can’t tell…first you have to take a test…they don’t tell you what’s on the test in order for you to prep or even give any material to study, you have to be very knowledgeable to use the studio or to get a membership, but not everyone has been to studios that go as in depth as they’d like for you to be privy to on their test. So if they had their own study material you could learn right? Wrong, you fail and then they tell you “oh it’s ok you can sign up for our beginners class” (you get put on a list and you can only use the studio, after failing, if you take their beginners class. So you can’t just test again.) It’s just as much as the membership. The class (for an entire city) has limited seats, and they only drop them every few weeks. So by the time you get to sign up they’re full. It all feels a little classist and systemic to me, like they only want certain people using the studio and they give everyone else the run around based on this system. If you visit the studio you’ll understand, also if you didn’t go to school for art or pottery how would you know the information that they ask, unless you have a pottery oven in your back yard…the only way to learn the kind of information that they ask for would be to learn it from a studio and again they ask questions that someone who’s used a studio or oven frequently would know ... it’s very unfortunate because their method counteracts what you’d think the point of the studio is, but it’s very on brand for Florida, hopefully someone else will open a studio that allows people to be creative, to have fun, and to express themselves and educates them because that’s what pottery should be. Not whatever system they’ve turned this...

First time here, had taken a semester long wheel throwing class in college and really enjoyed it. I was looking for somewhere to practice. When trying to purchase clay to throw, I was directed to an older lady in an office who told me I had to be a member of their organization to purchase clay. When I asked her about how to go about becoming a member, she glanced at the tattoo on my arm and decided they weren’t giving out memberships anymore. extremely unfriendly and unhelpful, never coming here again. Really bad...

This is a professional, experienced studio that genuinely cares about the quality of your experience. It’s not a casual high school pottery class where you just show up and play with clay;you’re expected to respect the space, use the equipment properly, and clean up after yourself. That said, the beginner classes are an excellent entry point, offering the guidance you need to get started. The studio offers a unique blend of creativity and community, making you feel part of both the city and its...