Textures in Ceramics

An 8-week online course in pottery texture techniques and surface decoration

The registration is now closed. Email me at maria@loramceramics.com to sign up for the September waitlist ❤️

Wouldn't it be amazing to look at your ceramic work and think, "That's exactly what I envisioned"?

If you've ever been drawn to pottery that looks rough, organic, or earth-like surfaces that remind you of stone, bark, sea glass, or coral — this course is where that aesthetic meets technique.

In this 8-week online ceramics course, you'll learn how to add texture to pottery using natural materials (slips, rocks, sand, and combustibles) and how to make lava glaze, crater glaze, and other special-effect glazes from scratch. Whether you're a potter developing a signature surface style or a ceramic artist exploring new techniques, this course gives you the foundation to experiment and repeat your results.

Start the Course
Start the Course

Course Structure

The course covers two areas of ceramic surface decoration:

  1. Part 1: Clays and Materials — learn how to add texture to pottery using natural materials: slips, rocks, sand, combustibles, and metal. Each material creates a different surface effect, from rough and earthy to organic and sculptural.

  2. Part 2: Glazes — learn how to mix and calculate textured glazes, including lava glaze, crater glaze, and other volcanic surface effects. This section builds on Part 1 to give you a complete ceramic texture practice.

How do I pick the best plan for me?

All plans include access to Part 1 — ceramic texture techniques using natural materials. If you want to go deeper into textured glazes, lava glaze, and glaze chemistry, the Basic+ plan and above include Part 2 as well. The Full and VIP plans add live Zoom calls and personalized feedback on your work.

Choose your plan

Basic
$155.00
One time
$77.50
For 2 months

Get access to Part I of the course, including videos, PDFs, and lectures for 8 weeks.

✓ Access to Part I (Clay and Materials)
✓ PDFs with lectures
✓ Answers to questions
✓ Access to lectures: 8 weeks
Basic +
$270.00
One time
$90.00
For 3 months

Access both Part I & Part II with extended access to lectures for 3 months.

✓ All the benefits of Basic
✓ Access to Part I (Clays and Mateirals)
✓ Access to Part II of the course (Glazes)
✓ Access to lectures: 3 months
Full (8 spots)
$400.00
One time
$100.00
For 4 months

Enjoy all Basic+ benefits plus 4 Zoom calls and full access to course lectures for 4 months.

✓ All benefits of Basic+
✓ 4 Q&A Zoom calls
✓ Access to lectures: 4 months
VIP (3 spots)
$630.00
One time
$105.00
For 6 months

Unlock all Full benefits, with personalized feedback, priority support, and 6 months of access.

✓ All the benefits of Full
✓ Personalized homework check
✓ 1-1 Workshop with Maria
✓ Priority Q&A
✓ Lifetime access to lectures
Close-up of a hand holding a square piece of pumice stone with a rough, porous surface.

Glaze Recipes & Ceramic Texture Experiments

Join my Patreon, where I share personal glaze experiments — mostly cone 6 oxidation — including working lava glaze recipes, textured glaze tests, and honest results when things don't work.

  • Exclusive lava glaze recipes + glaze test results

  • Extended learning for students in my ceramics courses

  • A way to support my work as an independent ceramic artist

I post new tests 3-6 times a month, and sometimes do exclusive Zoom calls. Whether you're here to learn, connect, or support — welcome.

Join My Patreon
Join My Patreon

What Potters & Ceramic Artists Are Saying

  • I can't recommend this course enough! I am not the most organized person so having the opportunity to learn another's system has been invaluable-- I never thought I would be using Excel but here we are. Now I feel like I am playing with a purpose. The course was clear, easy to navigate, and provided me with a strong foundation to continue with self-directed learning. This course is not just a handful of recipes. Rather it teaches a foundation that will empower you with the tools and confidence to mix your own glazes and experiment with aggregates and combustibles.

  • Maria's course was brilliant! I signed up for both the Textures course, as well as the Glazes course, and I got so much out of both. So much work and effort had gone into creating these courses, and it was really inspiring and encouraged me to try new materials and techniques. Would 100% recommend this course.

  • It is an excellent course that clarified issues that had puzzled me before. You provided the ground and now I can navigate walking on it (glazes) The flow of the course is smooth and your energy is contagious!

  • Maria Loram's seminar on ceramic surfaces was more than it promised. I finally understood the fundations of ceramic chemistry in a clear and consice way, giving me the confidence that I was lacking. I had tried many times on my own or through youtube videos, but it was this seminar that made everything clear in my mind. And for the first time I was able to get results with my tests and got some very satisfactory lichen and lava glazes. Maria is teaching us how to fish and gives us a very good fishing rod, rather than just a fish. We have to make the efford to find the recipes and understand the procedure, so that we can grow and learn. She has been very attentive and approachable, listening to our troubles and questions, and advising us on results and failures. She is also a very warm, spiritual, and happy person, her speech is clear and the visuals are of high quality. There are many examples of her work and the work of the artists that inspire her. Her aesthetics are wonderful too, both for her work and the layout of the seminar. I am very happy and satisfied to have taken this seminar and I am looking forward to the evolution of my work. It delivered more than I expected. Thank you Maria.

  • Now I feel more free and you gave me confidence that won’t leave me anymore.

  • 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 "Finally, a ceramics course that speaks fluent ‘real life’" meets creative genius! I came into Textures in Ceramics hoping to learn a few techniques, maybe figure out why my glazes either crack like a dried-up riverbed or slide right off my pots like they’re trying to escape. What I got instead was an existential reawakening wrapped in a moonscape. This course is BRILLIANTLY crafted—like one of those perfect coil pots that doesn’t look like a middle school art project. Maria? An absolute gem. She’s not one of those “let me dazzle you with my expertise while making you feel like a clumsy child” types. No, she’s the kind of instructor who meets you where you are, hands you the right tool (or the wrong one, just to prove a point), and somehow translates the language of clay into something your hands actually understand. She’s honest, hilarious, and refreshingly human—she’ll tell you straight up when something’s not working, but in a way that makes you feel inspired instead of devastated. She is 1000% engaged and committed to your success - however you define it. And the textures? Game-changer. We’re not just talking about slapping some slip on a pot and hoping for the best. We’re talking deep, tactile storytelling—marks that hold memory, movement, and meaning. I walked in expecting to learn a few techniques, and I walked out with a newfound respect for every surface I’ve ever touched, including my own unfinished pieces (which, by the way, I no longer hate). If you’re a ceramicist, sculptor, or just someone who likes making a mess with purpose, take this course. If nothing else, you’ll leave with a better grasp of texture and at least one story from Maria that you’ll want to repeat at dinner parties.

  • I really enjoyed the Textures in Ceramics course. You provide so much useful information, which is immediately applicable to both experts and beginners, hand builders and wheel throwers. You have a really nice way of explaining difficult concepts, always with a smile and sense of humor. The sections on making glazes was all new material for me, but you have inspired me to go out and try it on my own. I have purchased the tools and raw materials, so now it is just a matter of finding the right recipe and the time to experiment. I think the cost of the course is very reasonable for the amount of information provided. It is clear that you have spent many hours preparing material for the course. Thank you for this excellent course!

  • Maria's lessons were so well-structured and easy to understand even for self-taught learners. Not only just inspired by her beautiful work, her approachable teaching style made learning fun and enjoyable.

  • Thank you again for all of this! It was fabulous to find all of this texture information condensed into one place when I thought I'd have a couple of years of research ahead of me. (Though I probably still do, but at least I'm ahead of the game now!) Very much looking forward to your book and any future courses!

  • such a great course loved it

  • Really fascinating info in these videos, thank you. Lots of things coming together.

  • Thanks a lot!!! so much to process and practice ... absolutely grateful for all I learned

  • The richest course of any kind I have ever taken. I wasn't even following you, you came through on my Insta algorithm and I took the leap, and I am SO glad I did. Your work is stunning and inspiring and I have endless experiments ahead of me because of you. While I knew the glaze section was well beyond me at this point, I am glad I purchased this tier and that I can still come back to the lectures in hard copy in the future.

  • This course was perfectly on time for me. I had been pondering limitations, which local resources I could use in my ceramics, and how to really express myself through my work to take it to a different level. I didn’t know where to start learning and the thought of all of the tests was daunting… I didn’t even know how to mix a glaze and glazy.org seemed so overwhelming. I discovered you when I was researching how to create glazes with rocks and a few days later, you mentioned your course! I was so excited and signed up right away. The course exceeded my expectations. You answered all of my questions. I feel equipped with knowledge and an incredible foundation to really dive into my explorations, wherever they may lead. Thank you for removing my limitations and helping me to be a more able vessel for the ideas that visit my imagination. I’ll be sure to tell others about you. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to attend one of your live workshops and I look forward to reading your book! Thank you.

  • I really want to say that it’s truly amazing! I’m so glad I signed up for it. It’s been a wonderful class! I can’t seem to find the right words, but I’m deeply impressed and inspired.

    Your class has given me great ideas for bringing concepts I’ve wanted to materialize. Also, a few years ago, I collected some natural clay from a friend’s property and tested them in a kiln a few times, but I had put the project on hold. Now I feel inspired to pick it back up and incorporate it into my work. It will take some time, but I’m excited to work on it.

  • It's truly one of the best ceramics courses I've ever taken.

Student Work: Ceramic Techniques in Practice

Weathered ceramic pot with organic, earthy surface texture — organic pottery techniques
Student ceramic sculpture with natural stone-like surface — sculptural ceramics texture work
Close-up of rough ceramic surface texture achieved with natural material techniques
Ceramic test tiles showing crackle glaze and clay texture experiments — student work
Nature-inspired textured ceramic vessel — wabi sabi pottery aesthetic
Earthy clay pottery with weathered, organic surface decoration — student work
Rough organic ceramic piece made by adding texture to pottery with natural materials
Ceramic piece with crater glaze surface and crackle effect — volcanic glaze techniqu
Three textured ceramic vases with wabi sabi-inspired organic surfaces
Lava glaze and textured glaze test tiles — cone 6 ceramics experiments
Ceramic surface inspired by natural stone — rock texture techniques in ceramics
Textured pottery vessels with organic and metallic glaze surfaces — pottery surface decoration
Enroll in Textures in Ceramics
Enroll in Textures in Ceramics

FAQs

  • The course teaches ceramic texture techniques across two areas. Part 1 covers adding texture to pottery using natural materials - slips, rocks, sand, combustibles, and metal. Part 2 covers textured glazes including lava glaze, crater glaze, and volcanic surface effects.

  • This course is not exclusively about glazes; rather, it centers on creating textures through a variety of techniques, materials, and creative approaches. Although Part II of the course does include a substantial section on glaze basics—particularly helpful for those just beginning to mix and adjust their own glazes—it does not offer a fully comprehensive glaze calculation curriculum. If you already have significant glaze‑mixing experience, you may find that portion somewhat familiar.

    Overall, this course highlights my own personal methods for achieving textural effects, rather than diving deep into advanced glaze theory.

  • No, the course is designed to cover all the foundational knowledge in the first section, and then in the second part, you'll learn how to create your own glazes. It’s a comprehensive process, not just a recipe. However, check out my Patreon subscription if you’d like to learn specific recipes.

  • I typically fire at cone 6 oxidation in an electric kiln. However, I have experience with firing cones 8-10, gas kiln reduction, and wood firing. Since I teach techniques rather than specific recipes, this course is suitable for any type of firing.

  • The course is suitable for any type of firing atmosphere. I teach techniques that you can later adapt to fit your specific kiln settings and environment.

  • You should be able to make basic shapes that you want to decorate, but other than that, this course is suitable for all experience levels, from beginner to advanced.

  • The first part of the course is designed to be covered in 4 weeks, and the second part takes an additional 4 weeks. Depending on your plan, you will have varying lengths of access to the course content. The course is self-paced but I do recommend following the suggested timeline.

  • Yes, you can! It’s $15/month and you get a discount if you sign up for my Patreon. Just send me an email and I’ll send you the link.

  • Yes, you can upgrade your plan! I’ll remind you of deadlines so you can make that decision when needed.

  • The course content is condensed to save you time. Lectures range from 25 minutes to 1.5 hours per week. As for studio time, it’s recommended to spend 1-3 hours per week creating new experiments and testing, based on the course materials.

  • While subtitles are not available, I provide downloadable transcripts for all videos, which you can translate into your preferred language.

  • Most of the first part doesn’t require special equipment, but for the second part, basic tools like scales for glaze mixing will be necessary.

  • Yes, if you find the course isn’t what you expected or if you're truly unsatisfied, you can request a refund within 15 days of purchase. However, I’m confident you’ll enjoy and benefit from the content!

  • Yes, just send me an email, and we can arrange a payment plan.

  • Yes — Part 2 of the course covers lava glaze and other textured glaze effects in detail. You'll learn how lava glaze works, what variables change the result, and how to adapt it to your own kiln and clay body. If you want to go deeper into lava glaze specifically, the Glaze is Lava is a dedicated mini-course on that topic.

  • No. Part 1 of the course covers ceramic texture techniques without any glaze chemistry at all — just materials, slips, and physical surface work. Part 2 introduces glaze chemistry from scratch in a practical, visual way. No prior chemistry knowledge needed.