Makers' Spark

Ready to Push Your Pottery Further? Let's Spark Some New Ideas Together!

Maybe you want to: 

  • Finally master the art of pulling kick-ass handles

  • Play with new surface techniques and get over your fear of decorating 

  • Learn how to make your own templates & bisque molds 

  • Push your creativity and skills in new directions 

  • Learn to make better pots that are uniquely yours

... just to name a few?

The Makers' Spark membership will help you reach new heights with your pottery.

✅ Every month, you'll learn new techniques and explore new ways to express your unique voice.

Because clay can be freaking hard right?!?

And I've learned a few tips to make it easier and more enjoyable along the way. 😉 I'd love to share them with you!

I'm Naomi, and I’ve been working in clay since I was 16 years old (30 years!). I’ve had too many ceramic-casualties to count: 

  • Like a piece you spend hours on... only to have it fall apart at the last stage

  • Or the new flower vase that looked stellar but, um, didn’t really hold flowers very well (true story)

  • Not to mention the surfaces and glazes that looked so darned yummy when I tested them, but went on to wreak havoc on the pots and the kiln shelves

  • Or figuring out how to make a bowl that is beautiful to look at and a joy to use!

Part of what I love about clay is that it is endlessly versatile—you can do so darn much with it... but it’s also going to kick your ass every now and then, eh?

Clay is all about troubleshooting, taking chances, trying new things, failing, then trying again.

That’s why we like it, right? (Or maybe we're just masochists!?) 😅

Either way, it's so important to have some expert guidance along the way. Plus: it’s way more fun and to learn about clay in community with other makers!

💫 That's why I created The Makers Spark Membership.

Having a trusted place to go to with your questions—and a community of fellow clay geeks who’ll be there to cheer you on, can make all the difference—both in the pots you make, and how connected you feel. 

In the Makers’ Spark membership, you’ll be part of a community of creative potters from around the world, who are interested in both the how and the why of making awesome (and beautiful) pottery. 

This is a month-to-month membership and you can easily cancel at anytime.

In this membership, you will get: 

✅ One virtual teaching a month — learn new pottery techniques and expand your creative skills. These sessions are a combination of live, recorded, and guest workshops, lasting from 1-2 hours each. Plus, you'll have access to all recordings for the duration of your membership! ($60+ value! for each session)

✅ A monthly live Q&A session — have your questions answered from an expert & learn in community with other makers, so you can continue to grow and evolve your work.

✅ Access to a professional potter, artist, and mentor who will support you throughout your journey via a weekly newsletter and monthly Q&A, so that you can be inspired to reach new heights with your work.

✅ Access to the Makers’ Spark Mud Room, a private, member-only community space, where you can ask questions and get feedback from your peers and be part of a community of like-minded makers.

✅ PLUS all New Members will get ongoing access to the membership workshop library (a $1900+ value!). 

Member favourites include:

Handle it pottery workshop

Handle It: A Deep Dive Into Making Handles
This workshop will insert some new life and ideas into your handle game. You’ll learn my step-by-step method for pulling consistent handles, and a ton of different ways to make handles. You’ll also get a deep dive into the ergonomics of what makes a great and comfortable handle. 

layered pottery surfaces

Layered Surfaces: Integrating Surface & Form
In this step-by-step workshop, I’ll teach you my signature method of working with simple newsprint cutouts to create pattern and depth on your pots. This is a great workshop for anyone who is stuck on how to decorate their pots—no more “dipping & dunking” surface blues. 

pottery templates workshop jen allen

Designing Templates with Jen Allen
This workshop is packed with awesome tips and strategies for creating new forms, and making and refining simple templates. Jen demonstrates different strategies for making templates so that you can find the method that works best for you. Plus this workshop includes a packet of incredible illustrated handouts that you can download. 

In the membership library you'll also find workshops on: 

  • Testing Toolkit (a membership exclusive)

  • Intro to Mixing Slip and Glaze (a membership exclusive)

  • Hand-Built Pitchers & Creamers  (a membership exclusive)

  • Coil-Built Planters (a membership exclusive)

  • Studio Solutions Workshop (a membership exclusive)

  • Making & Working with Bisque Molds Workshop

  • Texture Tools Workshop

  • Vases & Flower Baskets

  • Multiple Mugs Workshop

  • Designing Good Pots (a membership exclusive)

  • Hand-Built Bowls

  • Hand-Built Plates and Oval Dishes

  • Beyond Layered Surfaces (a membership exclusive)

  • Making Plaster Damp Boxes (a membership exclusive)

  • Glazing & Finishing Details

  • Tiles & Wall Boxes  (a membership exclusive)

  • Pierced Lanterns

  • Hand-Built Cups 3 Ways

PLUS, INCREDIBLE Guest Artist Workshops

  • Advanced Altering & Templates with Jen Allen

  • Cut It Out Stencils with Shalya Marsh

  • Put A Lid On It with Jen Allen

  • Digging Into Why with Sean O’Connell (a membership exclusive)

  • Screen Printing for Clay with Shalya Marsh

  • Carving with Confidence with Diana Adams (a membership exclusive)

  • Photographing Pottery to Sell Online with Rebecca Ickes Carra (a membership exclusive)

  • All About Spouts with Jen Allen

  • Indigenous Pottery: Learn from the Land with KC Adams (a membership exclusive)

  • Can My Body Do This Forever: Ergonomics with Dawn Olson (a membership exclusive)

  • Developing Your Visual Voice in Clay with Carole Epp (a membership exclusive)

  • Unlocking Terra Sigillata with Shalya Marsh

  • Scoops & Spoons: Making Ceramic Utensils with Jen Allen

Monthly Q&A + Community Support

Remember when I said that clay is best learned in a supportive community? Mentorship and peer-support have been a HUGE part of my clay journey (and I owe much of my success as a potter and artist to them). 

That’s why a key part of the Makers’ Spark Membership is the ongoing support you get from me, a full-time professional potter and teacher—AKA: head clay-cheerleader, and self-professed pottery geek. 

This support happens at our monthly Q&A calls, and in the Mud Room—a private, member-only community space, where you can ask questions and get feedback from your peers and be part of a community of like-minded makers.

❓ How do the Q&A’s work?

These vary every month depending on what’s going on, but usually we have a theme for the call—a topic to focus our discussion. 

These could be anything from a fun show & tell of what you’re working on in the studio, to chatting about a current Maker Challenge (we do these about 3x a year in the membership), or getting behind the scenes with one of our guest artists. 

Regardless of the format, there’s always time for your making-related questions! 

Here are questions and topics from some recent Q&A’s:

  • At what temperature is it safe to open your kiln or use fans to help cool it faster?

  • How to dry flat pieces like plates and platters so that they don’t warp.

  • How to troubleshoot specific firing issues and failures. 

  • What’s the secret to getting a flat transfer on the interior of a bowl?

  • How do you find focus in the studio when you’re exploring many different mediums and juggling projects, and strategies for incorporating play into our studio practice.

  • How to make a comfortable handle—is there a good rule of thumb for how thick or wide it should be in relation to the mug?

Inside this community, you get to lean on my 30+ years of experience as a potter. This is the perfect place to get answers you won't find on Google or in a textbook.

We keep it real based on what actually works in the studio, and offer feedback specific to your situation.

Plus, like everything inside the membership, if you can't attend live, you can easily watch the replay at a time that works for you.

❓  How does the Mud Room Community work?

The Mud Room is a private member-only community space that is tied to the course portal—so there’s only one place to login! 

We’ve got themed chats to organize questions and posts. Topics include: Tech Questions, Recipes, Studio Brags, and more. 

We love it when members share images of what they’re working on, and issues they’re having so we can help troubleshoot. 

The Mud Room community — For Asking Questions:

And For Sharing Your Wins & Favourite Clay Things:

WHAT STUDENTS ARE MAKING:

 

 

WHAT STUDENTS ARE SAYING ABOUT MAKERS' SPARK:

"I love the variety of content and ways to connect. There is also a genuine gift of encouragement and a real value for community building in the membership.” - L. Kaufer, 2024

“Thank you for all the work you put into the Makers Spark Membership. I have been a member for over a year and every video and email you produce has been so incredibly valuable to me as I grow a small ceramics business alongside raising three active boys. I have learned so many techniques and tricks and gained so much confidence just watching all of the recorded sessions. While you have rarely seen my face I feel as though I know you both and that you are both cheering me on and laughing alongside me in my day-to-day trials in the studio.” A. Hogan Kosciak, 2025

❓  WHO IS THE MAKERS’ SPARK MEMBERSHIP PERFECT FOR?

  • If you've caught the clay bug and been working with pottery for a couple of years...

  • OR you're a "passionate potter" ready to move beyond making the same pieces repeatedly...

  • You're craving a community that truly "gets it" when you geek out about pottery 

  • AND you want the support to hone your skills, try new things, and fire up 🔥 (see what we did there?!) your clay practice in a fun, low-pressure environment... 

This is the perfect place for you.

✅ You get to go at your own pace, catch up whenever it works for you, and get a little bit better every single month.

If that sounds like something you want more of, we'd love to have you!

Membership Doors Open Soon — Join The Waitlist

 

Naomi Clement Makers' Spark Instructor

About Naomi

Hi, I’m Naomi Clement, I’m a ceramic artist, teacher, and creative entrepreneur! I’ve been working in clay for over 25 years, and I’ve taught workshops and exhibited my work all across Canada and the US. I have my BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, and my MFA in Ceramics from Louisiana State University. That means I do on occasion say both y’all and eh? in the same sentence.

Today I am well known for my elegant hand-built forms and my signature rich and layered pottery surfaces. But I wasn’t always making work that felt like “mine” – it’s taken me a lot of trial and error, not to mention more than a few hundred entries into what I lovingly refer to as the “blue-steel-gallery” (aka the dumpster), to make work that I feel happy and proud of. So I know first-hand how discouraging it can be to want to make pottery that is uniquely yours, but not knowing how to get there. That’s why I’ve created the Makers' Spark pottery membership: it’s a place for makers like you who want to really dig into technique and substance.

 Membership Closed — Sign-Up For the Waitlist

 


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