I was really excited to attend a ceramic class at Sio Ceramics, especially to make a "charcuterie board" as advertised, but unfortunately, my experience didn't live up to expectations. The class started fine. We were each given a pre-rolled slab of clay to cut our desired shape from, but right from the beginning, I felt a little restricted. The instructor told us we couldn't draw designs into the clay or shape it in any way. We could only paint the top of it, which was a bit of a letdown since I was expecting more creative freedom. I was surprised to find we were only allowed to use 7 colors--black, white, blue, orange, purple, green, and red. I understand that ceramics can be tricky, but I had hoped for more variety, or at least the chance to mix my own colors. The ceramic paint doesn't look the same after firing, so I was disappointing that since we couldn't mix the colors, we would have more of a variety of options. The class was split into two tables, and it seemed like the instructor mostly focused on the other table. It felt like we had to flag her down whenever we needed help or had questions, and even then, she would go right back to the other group. When we asked about possibly using different colors or getting more help with our designs, her responses came off as a bit rude. At the end of the class, I walked away with a piece that I guess I like, but it's not really a charcuterie board--it's just a flat ceramic piece with a design I painted on it. The class didn't provide any design templates or smaller tools for fine details, so make sure you're comfortable freehanding your entire design. The brushes were too large for any intricate work, which was frustrating. The pick-up process was also strange. I was emailed Thursday that I had to pick up my piece by Sunday during a very narrow 2-hour window per day. The urgency of it felt a bit much, and I was lucky to be in town during that time. Otherwise, my piece would've been thrown away, which seemed pretty harsh for a class I paid $100 for. Overall, I don't think the experience was worth the $100 class fee. I expected more guidance and space for more creative freedom. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to others, especially if you're looking to make something really special, maybe the other classes that are offered are better experiences, but the charcuterie board one isn't. read more