BellyFire Pottery :: A Hands-on Bachelorette Party
When we were looking for somewhere to host a small intimate bachelorette party, we stumbled upon BellyFire Pottery in Baton Rouge and decided to sign up for one of their hands on pottery-wheel classes.
BellyFire Pottery let us come in before our scheduled class to put up a few decorations and set out some charcuterie snacks and champagne. We were all excited for this new experience and a chance to hang out with beloved girlfriends.
We were given an instructor that first showed up how to shape the clay into balls and form it by hand. BellyFire had all the tools you need for cutting and decorating the clay and taught us how to mold by hand before we took our turns at the pottery wheel itself.
I know trying a pottery wheel throwing class has been on my “bucket list” ever since seeing Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze in “Ghost” and I was definitely not alone in this. We even joked that all we needed now was a Partick Swayze.
After we learned a few new tricks, it was time to experience our hands at wheel throwing.
We were each given seats at an individual wheel and started with a ball of clay. It was trickier than I imagined, as you have to wet the clay the perfect amount and keep it from drying out too much as you try to form it onto the wheel. I tried my best at forming some sort of bowl and between the “perfect” bowl breaking and then starting over and over I was happy to stop at my now imperfect bowl. There were many laughs as we all tried this and failed and tried again.
Once we formed our creations, it was time to go to the tables to craft them into what we wanted, to make designs, imprint words, or initials. Some of our group focused more on the hand building and brought to life the cutest little monster creatures.
We had to leave our creations to dry for a couple of weeks so they could be fired… When this process was done we came back to the studio to paint our finished products. We got to choose the colors and each had a tray of paint and brushes brought to a table where we unleashed the artist in us. We then left our creations to be glazed until we could pick up the final product.
This introductory group class was a great experience for the bachelorette and all those celebrating her. We all left with smiles and a sense of accomplishment and a desire to learn much more. I know I hope to perfect that coffee mug or special cereal bowl one day.
BellyFire has introductory classes that are good for adults and children alike. You can sign up for a Wheel Technique Class, a Mud and Merlot or a Date Night Class. There are intermediate and advanced classes and even Kid Camps. If you just want to paint a finished ceramic piece and make it your own creation, they have that too. Or maybe you want a unique place to get “fired up” celebrating your friend’s upcoming marriage like we did.
