Learn to sculpt faces that laugh, frown and gasp in a beginner-friendly clay workshop, one of the more unique team building activities in the San Francisco Bay Area. In a ceramics studio in Lower Nob Hill, your group explores facial structure and expression and sculpts one expressive bust or two to three small heads each.
The workshop runs two and a half hours and is priced at $155 per guest for private groups of 2 to 20 guests. It is great for beginners and intermediate students. Sculpture clay and firing for two to three sculptures are included, shared tools and aprons are available, and you keep your finished work.
What's Included
- Two and a half hours of instruction and firing
- Sculpture clay and firing for two
Learn to sculpt faces that laugh, frown and gasp in a beginner-friendly clay workshop, one of the more unique team building activities in the San Francisco Bay Area. In a ceramics studio in Lower Nob Hill, your group explores facial structure and expression and sculpts one expressive bust or two to three small heads each.
The workshop runs two and a half hours and is priced at $155 per guest for private groups of 2 to 20 guests. It is great for beginners and intermediate students. Sculpture clay and firing for two to three sculptures are included, shared tools and aprons are available, and you keep your finished work.
What's Included
- Two and a half hours of instruction and firing
- Sculpture clay and firing for two to three sculptures
- A demonstration of coil, slab and pinch techniques for shaping features
- Shared tools and aprons
- Drying, trimming, bisque firing, glazing and glaze firing, ready in about four to six weeks
About the Workshop
The workshop explores how facial features and the muscles beneath them work together to convey emotion, and how to bring them to life in clay. It begins with introductions and a demonstration of essential hand building techniques, coil, slab and pinch, and how to use them to shape features and expressions. Clay is surprisingly responsive to every touch, adjustment and gesture.
From there, each guest sculpts one expressive bust or two to three small heads, experimenting with different moods, gestures and personalities. It is a fun, hands-on introduction to sculpting that is equal parts educational and playful. After class, the studio dries, trims, bisque fires, glazes and glaze fires the pieces and lets you know when they are ready.
Why It Works for Groups
Faces are instantly relatable, so this is one of the creative team building ideas where everyone has an opinion and a laugh about each other's work. Some sculpt a grin, some a frown, and the table quickly fills with a lineup of moods. With 2 to 20 guests, it is one of the livelier team building activity ideas for small groups, and it fits the bill for fun team building activities for adults.
The workshop suits a team building activity, a Christmas party, a birthday, a bachelorette party or a date idea. As one of the more memorable christmas team activities, it sends every guest home with a sculpture, and it stays one of the most hands on team building activities a group can book.
About the Studio and Its Founder
The studio was opened in 2012 by a ceramic artist who has been working in clay for over 35 years. After more than twenty years in high-tech manufacturing, he earned a BA and an MFA, taught ceramics at Bay Area colleges, universities and community centers, and managed the ceramic studio at the Richmond Art Center before opening his own space. Throwing on the wheel has always been his first love in clay.
Today the studio runs two San Francisco locations, in Lower Nob Hill and in the Mission, with more than 10,000 square feet of studio space, a team of instructors and cone 5, cone 10 and raku kilns. Its motto is simple: learn, create, share.
What Past Guests Say
One guest whose group included several people who had never touched a pottery wheel called the class a perfect group activity, praising an instructor who explained things clearly, demonstrated techniques from multiple angles and guided anyone who was struggling. Another described a very relaxed, fun and intimate class, and a third booked a class with friends for a birthday and had a blast.
Good to Know
- Great for beginners and intermediate students; workshop minimum of 2 participants
- Suitable for adults and kids aged 8 and up; an adult must accompany kids and pay for a separate ticket
- Wear clothes and shoes you do not mind getting dirty; you may wish to bring your own apron and hand towel
- The last 15 minutes are for clean-up, or add instructor clean-up for $12 per guest
- Please arrive 10 minutes early so the demonstration can start on time
Plan Your Faces Workshop
Share your preferred date and group size to check availability. At $155 per guest for two and a half hours, with sculpture clay, tools and firing included, this workshop gives every guest an expressive sculpture to keep.
