Chala Toprak: How to Build “Wild Petals” Sculptures

How to Build “Wild Petals” Sculptures

A Sculptural Ceramics Workshop with Chala Toprak

Create bold, blooming forms with delicate, paper-thin detail.

Want to sculpt big, but still capture softness and fragility?

In this hands-on workshop, ceramic artist Chala Toprak teaches you how to hand-build large-scale, petal-inspired sculptures - bringing together structural strength and ethereal, flowing forms.

From coiling up a vessel to adding paper-thin accents that flutter like wild blossoms, you’ll learn every step of her signature technique.

What You’ll Learn

• How to coil-build a tall, solid form with intention and proportion
• How to prepare and attach large structural pieces without collapse or cracking
• How to create ultra-thin, delicate surface details that add movement and contrast
• How to use professional hand-building tools to refine and shape your sculpture with confidence

This workshop will give you a repeatable process for sculpting powerful yet poetic ceramic pieces - from the ground up.

What You’ll Walk Away With

By the end of this class, you’ll know how to:

✔ Build large-scale ceramic sculptures with fragile finishes
✔ Shape paper-thin petals and expressive forms with strength and grace
✔ Master attachments and form-building strategies that hold up under pressure
✔ Take your sculptural practice to the next level - without fear of fragility

Tools You’ll Need

To follow along, you’ll need:

• Metal rib
• Serrated metal rib
• Mudtools Red – Very Soft Polymer rib
• Xiem silicone rib #6 (orange)
• Knife
• Metal wire texture tool
• Thin brush
• Polymer cone-shaped modeling tool
• Wooden knife

Workshop Format

• Video workshop – watch on your own time
• Clear, step-by-step instruction from Chala
• Includes tool list & demo visuals
• Suitable for intermediate to advanced ceramicists

About the Artist: Chala Toprak

Former fashion designer Chala Toprak moved from Istanbul to Brooklyn in 2019 and found her new creative language in clay. Her ceramic practice blends bold form and delicate detail, drawing inspiration from nature, growth, and transformation.

Working with both wheel and hand-building techniques, Chala creates sculptural vessels and experimental pieces using a range of firing methods - from electric to anagama. Her work is deeply tactile and personal, a celebration of individuality and the organic beauty of imperfection.

“I think of my sculptures like wildflowers - each one growing freely in its own way.”

Explore more: www.chalatoprak.com

Enroll Now

Ready to bring movement, softness, and strength to your sculptures?

Start building with intention. Sculpt with emotion. Let your clay bloom.