A gem in this Yorkville neighborhood! I love the relaxed environment with freedom to make whatever you want. Never had an issue where I felt rushed or judged. Communication with Sara (the owner) has been fantastic as well. Usually I email with questions, and she would answer it quickly and thoroughly. As for skill, I would still consider myself a beginner as there are a bunch of seasoned veterans in the studio. Earthworks is great place to hone your ceramics and hand-building skills! I have since moved, but do miss the camaraderie and the environment of Earthworks! read more

I am experiencing some dissonance with starting my review writing with a negative summary. As a generally upbeat and positive person, I have reconciled these feelings by knowing I may prevent other similarly positive people from having a negative experience. I can also make myself feel a tab bit better by starting with the positives, which include: 1. The evening hours of this location are great. 2. You can make up missed class time by substituting studio hours (and get an extra hour to compensate for lack of instruction. 3. During your class time, you can and will learn solid techniques. 4. Many of the students are very friendly and it is a diverse group. Now the downsides: 1. Classes are shorter than other studios in the area (for example, the 92Y offers a 3 hour class rather than a 2 hour session). 2. In the evening class, the instructor will strongly (and sometimes borderline rudely) suggest that you begin to clean up 30 minutes before the end of your class- leaving you with only about 75 minutes of instruction given the set-up time. 3. There are a lot of long time students in the class and it can be difficult to get one-on-one instruction at times depending on the teacher because these students and the very beginners often monopolize time. 4. If you are looking for someone to step in and show you on your piece what you are doing wrong, you are not in the right place. I adjusted to this and it actually helped me in the learning process but this certainly would not be the best atmosphere for most beginners. 5. During studio hours, if you were to show up even a minute early, the owner would leave you waiting outside in the cold with other students until the studio technically opened. There were several times she and the other instructor had coffee and read the newspaper while we shivered outside. On other occasions, they were late to open and never were apologetic. 6. Do not expect any instruction during studio hours. At my old studio, if an instructor was on-hand, you could ask opinions and they were more than happy to help. Customer service at this facility was among the worst I have experienced in NYC. Lastly, to demonstrate the customer service point, I decided to re-register despite points 1-5 above. The skills I was learning were solid and I made friends in the class. The registration fees were not due for over a month but I thought it might help the studio, given the tough economy, to have the money over the holidays. I suggested this to the owner and she proceeded to charge my credit card. The next day, during studio time, the one instructor who occasionally answered my questions informed me he would not be doing so anymore because it was not class time (although I did of course pay the hourly fee they charged students). As a person who goes above and beyond for my clients regularly, I knew I could no longer support an organization that took this approach to customer service. I asked the owner if we could speak. After a very frustrated sigh of "what do you need", I requested a refund for the class. She obliged without asking if there was anything she could do or learn from the experience. She also proceeded to charge me a $20 inconvenience charge even though I had just paid for the class less than 12 hours before and no one else had been precluded from entering the class (since dues were not for well over a month and I had been the first student to pay). A very nominal portion of this went to cover the credit card fees (I believe it was between 1-2). This I was fine paying, the other, only reconfirmed my feelings about the decision. This interaction, in combination with the many of the months I took classes there, left a bad taste in my mouth. I was very worried that perhaps my studio experience in a smaller city (Pittsburgh- check out Pittsburgh Center for the Arts) had spoiled me. Fortunately, I have since joined a class at the 92Y and have found I have not only been exposed to more advanced techniques, but also, that the staff and students couldn't be more welcoming and friendly. I highly recommend this facility as a great alternative. It also has even more flexibility in the hours of classes and caters well to the working woman. I only hope that in this economic climate, Earthworks will improve on their customer service skills. Luxuries, such as art classes, are one of the easiest places for us, the client, to make cuts. Then again, as they will tell you, they have been open for a long time. Maybe NYers have just gotten accustomed to this. Fortunately, I did not. read more

I'd give Earthworks 6 stars if I could! I got hooked on ceramics in college after taking two courses. Upon graduation and moving to NYC, I let pottery slip to the wayside. Consumed with my corporate NYC life, I felt my artistic side slipping away, which is why I decided to take up a pottery class in the city. I picked Earthworks mainly because of location to my apartment. Without a doubt, it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. The group of potters (ranging from beginners to experts) are incredibly welcoming and friendly. It's a low stress and happy environment, and the owner Sara is phenomenal - not a bad bone in her body. They offer lots of different types of classes and workshops to help enrich your glazing skills. Love love love Earthworks! read more

I'm an absolute beginner, and kinda klutzy to boot, but I'm really, really enjoying my classes at Earthworks, and learning a tremendous amount from the very pleasant, helpful and encouraging instructors. Which really makes me scratch my head when I read this other 2-star review. While I agree with all her "upside" comments, I've had a totally different experience when it comes to the issues that lead to her "downside" comments. To wit: 1 - "Only" 2-hours" of class time? Well, that seems plenty long enough to me. I live in the 'hood so I can pop in for bench time during the week. 2 - "Clean-up half an hour before the end of a 2-hour class"? Well, during the first session the instructor informed us newbies we needed to be all cleaned up and out the door by the end of class, and suggested we start cleaning up 15 minutes before the end of class. That's worked out fine. When you consider all that the instructor has to get organized in a mere half hour between classes, a dawdler can really throw a monkey wrench into the process, and negatively impact the students' experience in the next class. So it's just common courtesy to abide by the clean-up time request. 3 - "Long-time/beginner students eating up instructor's attention"? I dunno. It seems like our instructor roams the class, engaging EVERYONE in a discussion about what they're doing, making suggestions, answering questions, giving demonstrations, etc. Personally, I really LOVE the mix of skill levels among my classmates. While I'm learning tons from my instructor, I'm also learning by observing different techniques, different styles, and different basic approaches to the process through the work of the other students. Everyone is very encouraging to one another, and there's lots of sharing of ideas and suggestions back and forth. It's a very pleasant atmosphere, very open and relaxed. No negative vibes whatsoever! 4 - "No demonstration"? Huh? Not in my class! Our instructor demonstrates every step to the other newbies and myself, and observes, comments and assists us as we give it a try. And anyway, the best way to learn is to do-by-self. I've observed lots of demonstrations of more advanced techniques for the more experienced students, too. Our instructor always has time to answer and work out the "How do you..." questions. 5 - I've arrived early for class several times this winter and was NEVER made to stand out in the cold. Weird comment... 6 - "No help during bench time"? Well, it IS supposed to be do-by-self time, not a class. But being a total neophyte, I've asked several studio supervisors questions during bench time hours and always get a pleasant, helpful response. My husband gave me a set of lessons as an Xmas gift and it's the best gift he's given me in 30 years of marriage! There's terrific camaraderie among the students which I feel is the result of the positive, happy, helpful, knowledgeable vibe of studio on the whole. I can only speak as a beginner, but I just can't imagine a better place to do pottery. And something tells me this is a pretty universal assessment, given the wide range of skill levels among my fellow classmates, who've kept coming back for more classes. I intend to do so, too! read more

The studio is lovely and Lynn, who is the teacher, is pleasant and efficient in attending to all the students who come. After waiting 6 years to finally find the time, I signed up for a wheel class, only to discover that a shoulder injury made it much too painful to continue. I got in touch with Sara, the owner, who couldn't give a hoot. A contract is a contract she said, and too bad, making me pay 2/3 of the 10 class fee for my one lesson. Not neighborly, and not nice. Had there been a trial lesson, I would have learned right away, but that's not what this is about. it's about money, and as much as I had hoped to return once my injury is healed, I won't now because it's just all about money! Truly too bad. read more

Before beginning my classes at Earthworks, I had never ever made pottery of any kind before. I was the beginner of all beginners. However, being at Earthworks was the best place to be for this. I took eight classes during the summer and there were only about 5 or 6 other students in the class. Some had been doing pottery for years, some not so long, and me... I was clueless when I first started! But, that was okay. Being in a class with such diversity proved to be quite beneficial as I learned a lot from fellow students. The environment was very peaceful, friendly, and helpful... I never felt embarassed that it took me ummm, a gazillion times to even just center a piece of clay. I also liked being able to see so many different types of creations being made... simple mugs to something as complex as a fancy sangria pitcher. As for the instructor, Sara (the owner) really took her time to teach and model the methods thoroughly. With such a small class, people easily worked at their own pace/level as Sara circulated the room to help individuals as they needed it. read more

This is a cozy & warm pottery studio. They have amazingly patient & encouraging teachers and the environment is very friendly. I was very fortunate to start my pottery in this studio and found a very wonderful teacher. For me, sitting on a wheel is a meditation and I always looked forward to my classes. read more

Earthworks is fantastic. If you're looking for a pottery studio, look no further. The classes are excellent, the teachers skilled and know how to teach you how to make a variety of things. Everyone is super friendly and eager to help. It's a great community of people and an amazing relaxing and fun experience learning to throw on the wheel! read more

An oasis in the middle of a loud busy city, this studio is wonderful for beginners as well as advanced potters. The teachers are inspiring and responsive and there is often time before and after class to work more if needed. My favorite part is the owner's, Sara's, contagious laugh and smile, which puts everyone at ease and contributes to the encouraging nature of the studio. Sara, in addition to being an effective owner and talented teacher is also a skilled potter, who creates beautiful and inspiring pieces, for sale at the studio. read more