A week of Creative Flow Exploring Ceramics
Early Bird Discount 15%
Exploring Ceramics Workshop / Retreat
with marina
This full 6day workshop is available once a month. The only thing you need to do is to choose your dates. You can also request dates other than those announced, for a workshop or a retreat. We will do our best to make it happen.
In ancient times, Aegina was known for its water jugs made from a pale coloured, local clay that kept the water cool and fresh. These jars were made up to a few years ago by the last potters of the island. Today, no one is left to carry this tradition, so in a way, all of us on the island working with clay, professionally or not, would like to see ourselves safeguarding this tradition.
We will start the workshop by exploring local clay, get familiar with it as well as with the environment in which we are, that is the island of Aegina. We will visit one or two of the areas where traditional potters used to pick their clay from all the way up to very recently, as well as explore nature around, pick elements to inspire our work.
Back in the studio, we will prepare the wild clay so that we can use it in one way or another – it is not an easy clay to work with, but that won’t stop us from using it to build with and make slip. We will continue our exploration using studio clays, and play with them through a series of exercises to familiarise ourselves with their various qualities. These exercises will be paired with brief discussions on the properties and varieties of clays, basics on slips and glazes if necessary, offering a foundation for experimentation and giving space for unexpected discoveries to appear while creating pieces free from judgement. The basic aim is to dive into the creative process with clay as our medium.
Working with clay is a meditative activity, and it is with this meditative approach that I would like to guide you through this workshop, whether you are new, or not, to clay. Show you how to listen to clay, to what is happening right here and now as we hold it in our hands: from wedging all the way through to shaping it into a final piece. The possibilities are many, it is a question of dialogue between you and the clay, what you want to create, what it allows you to do. It requires our full presence and conscious awareness. The dialogue continues until we have found not perfection but harmony in our creation, the balance that makes everything look just right.
We will choose together whether we want to create everyday objects or be freer, liberate our creativity even more by crafting small sculptures. What really and truly matters is to create a creative and constructive dialogue with clay.
This workshop is tailored for both beginners and people with experience. It is a creative journey into the expressive world of clay. By the end of it, you will have made small sculptures and/ or objects imbedded with your explorative experience: memories of a special week where creativity met pleasure and relaxation.
Daily 6-hour workshop: 3 hours in the morning & 3 hours in the afternoon.
Maximum number of participants: 10
Included: tea, coffee & snacks, materials & firing of pieces, as well as foraging wild clay excursion and first day lunch.
We are happy to help you organise your trip.
Not included: meals, accommodation, air flights & boat tickets, transfer from and to Athens airport, the ports of Piraeus and Aegina, excursions outside of those included.
To book as a Retreat, which includes accommodation at The Grapevine House, breakfast & lunch, contact us to make arrangements.