The Pottery Loop
Seven weeks of pottery and mahjong
A 7-week handbuilding course for the mahjong obsessed and the mahjong curious. Build the mug, the rack, the box, and the magnets your table has been missing, and pick up (or brush up on) the game along the way.
$285 · 7 Mondays · all levels
Paul Cézanne, The Card Players, 1890 to 1892. Public domain.
Here's the thing about mahjong sets: a full one runs 136 to 152 tiles. That's too much for a beginner course, so we build the pieces you'll actually use instead.
Over seven Mondays, you'll handbuild a full ceramic accessory collection for your table: a mug to drink from, a rack to hold your hand, a box to store your set, and a run of custom magnets to send home with. Two sessions along the way cover mahjong itself, shaped around whichever style your table plays.
The course, panel by panel
Techniques build week to week, so you finish with a collection made for the way you actually play.
Week 1
Start the course by handbuilding your own mahjong themed mug, the essential vessel for your tea, coffee, or cocktail during game night. This week covers foundational forming techniques and an intro to underglaze and surface decoration, which you'll use to hand paint mahjong tile motifs (dragons, bamboo, dots, winds, and characters) directly onto your piece.
Week 2
No more balancing your tiles in a wobbly line. This week you'll build a ceramic mahjong tile holder and rack, the kind you use tableside during play to keep your hand organized and hidden from opponents. We'll focus on slab-building techniques, precise measuring for functional tile grooves, and clean, even edges.
Week 3
Every set needs a home. This week's project is a ceramic box built to store your mahjong tiles (or any small collection) between games. We'll cover box construction, clean lip fitting, and design choices that balance form with function.
Week 4
A lighter, playful project: handbuild and detail up to 12 custom ceramic magnets featuring your favorite mahjong tile designs. Great for gifting, decorating your fridge, or building out a whole tile set in miniature, with no full 136-tile commitment required.
Week 5
No new build this week. Half the class is a beginner-friendly walk through mahjong rules and gameplay, shaped around whichever style (American or Traditional) your group leans toward, and the other half is your first glazing session, applying glaze to the pieces you've built so far.
Week 6
Instruction continues, building on the fundamentals from Week 5: this week covers how American and Traditional style play diverge (racks and jokers versus the original ruleset) with table time to try them out. Alongside the game, finish glazing any remaining pieces so everything is ready for its final firing.
Week 7
The send off. Your work comes out of the final firing, so you collect everything you've made over the course, then put it straight to work in one last mahjong session with the group.
Short answer: pretty much anyone. Here's who tends to get the most out of it.
Never played mahjong and never touched clay? This course is built to teach both from the ground up, no prior experience with either one required.
Already know your dots from your bams? Week 5 is a quick refresher on rules, then the rest of the course is all about building gameware you'll actually use.
If you've taken a class with us before and want a themed project series, this one comes with a running theme and a full table setup to show for it at the end.
Bring your usual mahjong circle and build a matching set of gameware together, or come solo and meet other Chicago mahjong folks around the table.
Two skill sets, taught side by side over seven weeks.
Pottery
Mahjong
Two ways to play
Same seven weeks, same table of gameware. Tell us which ruleset your group wants the spotlight on, and we'll shape Week 5 and Week 6 around it.
Racks, jokers, and the card
Played with the National Mah Jongg League card, joker tiles, and racks with a sloped ledge. The style most home games across the U.S. have grown up on since the 1930s.
The original ruleset
No joker tiles, hands built from matched sets and a pair, and a sharper focus on reading what everyone else has discarded. The ruleset American style grew out of.
Dates for the next Mahjong Mondays series are still being finalized. Registering by email holds your interest and a preferred style, we'll follow up as soon as a start date is locked in.
Good to know
A full mahjong set runs anywhere from 136 to 152 tiles depending on the variant. That's an incredible pottery project, and an unrealistic one for a 7-week, beginner-friendly class.
Instead of asking you to handbuild a set of tiles you'll never finish, Mahjong Mondays focuses on the ceramic pieces that actually elevate your game: something to drink from, something to rack your tiles on, something to store your set in, and something small and playful to send home with you.
Seven weeks of pottery and mahjong fun. One new (or renewed) obsession.
Reserve your spot: $285Questions? Reach out or email potterychicago@gmail.com.
Unknown Tang dynasty court painter, Beauty Playing Go, Tang dynasty, 8th century. Public domain.
