Clay Studio

Studio and Gallery is owned and operated by a husband and wife team, Esther and Ali Alinejad. Esther received her Bachelors Degree in Fine Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her Masters Degree in Fine Art from the University of Arizona. Ali received his Bachelors Degree in Fine Art from the University of Paris VIII.

Esther 's forte is sculpture, she enjoys building large scale slab built work. She also has a unique wheel throwing style creating everything from dinnerware sets to large decorative platters. She has been working with clay for 23 years and loves working with her students sharing both her knowledge and experience. Ali enjoys hand building in clay, specializing in hand built and wheel thrown sinks. He has a great imagination and has created over 100 individual and unique clay masks that were recently on exhibit at the Civic Arts Plaza, located in Thousand Oaks. Esther and Ali welcome custom work including tile murals, both private and public, dinnerware sets, fountains, sinks, sculptural pieces and artwork for the garden.

At Clay Studio and Gallery,located in Thousand Oaks we are one of the only studios in Ventura County specializing in teaching all levels of pottery classes. From children to adults, we teach hand building, wheel throwing on potter's wheels and sculpture.

Children's Classes (ages 5-14)
Hand Building and Wheel
This is a four-week, one and a half-hour class designed to introduce students to hand building and basic wheel throwing methods. Students will learn various methods of hand building such as coil and slab building methods. Students interested in working on the wheel will learn basic wheel throwing skills. Students will create fun projects such as coil pots, masks, slab boxes and /or bowls and cups on the wheel.

More Than One Child Per Family Enrollment:
When enrolling more than one child in a class per family,
the second child is given a 10% discount on the class enrollment fee.
***Students that miss a class during a session have 7 days to complete a make-up class.

Adult Classes (ages 17 and up)
Wheel Throwing
This is a four-week class designed to introduce students to throwing on the potter's wheel. In this class students will learn basic wheel throwing skills, such as centering, pulling up walls and forming vessels. Students will learn to create mugs, bowls, plates and canisters.

Hand Building/Raku
This is a four-week, two-hour class. This class will provide students with the basic hand building knowledge in order for them to create functional pieces or sculptural works of art.
The class will also introduce students to throwing on the potter's wheel. In this class students will learn basic wheel throwing skills, such as centering, pulling up walls and forming vessels. Students will learn to create mugs, bowls, plates and canisters.

Lab fee covers clay, glazes, firing . Students provide their own tools.

Classes by Arrangement

One-Time Drop in Class
Drop-in classes are designed to introduce individuals to the fun and gratifying experience of working with clay. Individuals can either work on the potter's wheel or hand build an project with clay. Individuals may "drop-in" to a pre-scheduled class . The fee covers a two-time visit, which includes: individual instruction, clay, glazes and firing.

One - Time Drop in class Fee $ 75