La Mano Pottery is a full service ceramic studio centrally located in the heart of New York City. Opened in 1998, La Mano provides a welcoming studio environment for beginners and experienced potters. Here, everyone can relax, learn, and enhance their creativity while working with clay.
Classes are offered weekly for those interested in hand building or using the potter's wheel to make unique handmade items.
All classes are small, and are designed to help students develop and advance their skills(see descriptions and schedules). Teachers freely share their enthusiasm for pottery and offer personal assistance to help students realize their ideas. Practice time is available to all students for independent work, and there is always a knowledgeable studio assistant on duty. Private lessons are also available for individuals and groups.
La Mano is the creative home for nearly 100 ceramic artists — known as Studio Members — who make their art right in our studio. Studio membership includes full access to our pottery equipment and tools as well as a large, clean work area that can be reserved for a block of time any day of the week.
Independent creative work truly flourishes at La Mano as evidenced by so many beautiful creations coming out of our kilns daily. The La Mano team works to keep the supplies in abundance, the glazes mixed, and the kiln schedule firing regularly so our Members and Students have a safe, pleasant workspace. As ceramic artists ourselves, we place a high value on fostering a peaceful, relaxed, and healthy environment where everyone can enjoy being creative with clay.
Given our spacious size and central location in Manhattan, students and members come from all over the tri-state area. Every subway-line is within a few short blocks of the studio and we are close enough to Penn Station for our members and students to walk here. The diversity of talented artists can be seen in the work produced at the studio, which inspires and energizes our members and students alike.
La Mano is equipped with 29 electric pottery wheels for throwing. A separate area is set up for hand building, complete with slab roller and extruder. Six electric kilns, firing regularly to cone 05 and cone 5, allow for the production of hundreds of beautiful pieces each week. Two distinct clay bodies and a unique collection of glaze recipes (mixed right in the studio) offer a palette of colors for all tastes and projects. Our extensive library of ceramic books and magazines is available for everyone working in our space.
With a high priority on safety and health, our studio is a welcoming and enriching oasis right in the heart of the city. You can read our COVID-19 policies on the Studio Info page.
We invite you to visit our studio or contact us with any questions.
Yours in mud,
Julie and Peggy
Co Owners