7day Ceramics Workshop: Shape & Decorate

Service Description

Working with clay is a meditative activity: time disappears and we are called to be in harmony with it. It is with this meditative approach that I would like to guide you through this workshop, whether you are new, or not, to clay. Working with clay is about listening. Listening 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 the conscious awareness of each breath and gesture, what imprints they will leave on it. The dialogue continues until we have found not perfection but harmony, the balance that makes everything look just right. In this particular workshop, we will create black pieces using the ancient, Greek technique, later known as Bucchero in Roman times, which requires only one firing. For this we will be using Terra Sigilata, which allows us to burnish the pieces that are then fired in a reduction kiln. In this way, we will concentrate mainly on the shape of our pieces. We will, of course, be free to decorate them as well, using the elements we will have picked up from nature and scratching techniques. We will first spend some time exploring the 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 of the areas where traditional potters used to pick their clay from. In ancient times, Aegina was known for its water jugs that kept the water cool and fresh. It is with this in mind that we will each think of what kind of containers we would like to create. We will also explore nature around and pick elements from it to use as inspiration and/ or elements to create decoration on our pieces. Back in the workshop, we will explore and play with the local clay. We will try different decorative methods, using what we will have found out in nature, as well as scratching techniques: sgraffito and champ-levé, which will be able to apply on our creations. We will then start creating our pieces, with a mixture of pinch pot, coiling and slab techniques, using low firing red clay. Finally, we will fire pieces in a reduction kiln so that they come out black. By the end of the workshop you will have your own production of everyday objects to take back home with you, filled with memories of your creative week on Aegina.