130 Grant Road
Thorndon
P O Box 6686
Wellington
Telephone: 04 473 3680

Email: wellingtonpotters@gmx.com

Wellington Potters Centre

The Wellington Potters' Association (WPA) welcomes new members. If you have always hankered to play with clay but have not had the opportunity, or if you are an experienced potter, we cater for all levels of interest, experience and competence.

The WPA is based at the Wellington Potters Centre on the edge of Wellington's Green Belt in Thorndon, close to the central city with easy access by public transport. For the historically minded the WPA was incorporated in 1958 and is therefore probably one of the oldest such potters club in the country. Its members are predominantly Wellington based studio and hobby potters but with a significant number of country members who keep in touch with our activities through our monthly Newsletter.

We hold exhibitions at least once a year, usually in the Academy Galleries on Queens Wharf in the Central Business District. Throughout the year we hold specialised weekend workshops with visiting overseas and local tutors.

The club also has an anagama kiln at Horokiwi on the hills overlooking Soames Island that provides opportunities for local potters to undertake wood firing.

Alan Ross is recording the story of WPA’s Te Haunui anagama kiln chapter by chapter. You can follow this story in the Features section of this website. Read Alan's story Part 1   Part 2   Part 3 Part 4   Part 5   Part 6

• Excellent, secure and readily accessible facilities with good parking
• 24 hour access
• Kilns (4 electric).
• Wheels (12 electric and kick wheels).
• Extensive library professionally maintained.
• A collection of work by many internationally recognised potters
• Spacious work areas.
• Evening and weekend classes catering for different levels of competency.
• Workshops and demonstrations.
• Technical advice from experienced members.
• Visiting potters.
• Potter in Residence, currently Vivian Rodriquez.
• Annual exhibitions.
• Talks/films/videos/slide evenings.
• Clay available for purchase.
• Use of club glazes.
• Social activity.
• Informative Newsletter.
• Club days/evenings

You can read our monthly newsletter by clicking the link at the top of this page.

Tuesdays is Club day, between 10 am and 2.30 pm. If you wish to sample what we have to offer or are visiting Wellington call in, check us out and share a coffee.

To Join

Contact us by e-mail: wellingtonpotters@gmx.com

Classes at Wellington Potters Association

All classes are held at the WPA rooms at 130 Grant Road, Thorndon, Wellington.

Diploma in Ceramic Arts at Wellington Potters Association

If you are in the Wellington region and have been thinking about advancing your skills and knowledge of ceramics then consider enrolling for the DCA and studying through Otago Polytechnic’s Distance Learning programme that is run at Wellington Potters Centre or you can study on line just the Glaze Technology component. Otago Polytechnic prefers applications to be submitted by 30 November each year. This popular course is also run successfully in Auckland, Hamilton, Otaki, Nelson and Christchurch.

Copies of the course syllabus are available on request from the Otago Polytechnic’s website www.tekotago.ac.nz, or phone 0800 762 786 or e-mail info@tekotago.ac.nz

Read more about this course

or you can call Cate Pates, Wellington Course Supervisor

Email: clpates@hotmail.com T: 04 478 4433 M: 021 143 7705