Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Made of Earth: Handbuilding Through the Turning Year
This course is about exploring our connection to place and time through clay with local artist & potter Lucy Cheminais. This is a ceramic handbuilding course suitable for all skill levels from complete beginners to seasoned hobbyists.
Students will learn the traditional handbuilding techniques of pinching, coiling and slab-building while making vessels and decorative pieces inspired by the rhythms of the year. Inspired by local landscapes and foraged textures, each piece will carry a connection to the season in which it is made.
Along the way, we’ll briefly explore how found and natural materials, including wood ash, local clay and rocks gathered from the landscape can become part of the making process and offer a glimpse into traditional and sustainable approaches to ceramics. Students will leave not only with technical confidence, but with a deeper understanding of how pottery can connect us to the land, our ancestors and the traditions of everyday life.
The course consists of five sessions delivered over six weeks. During the first four sessions students will focus on handbuilding and developing their pieces. This is followed by a one-week break to allow time for bisque firing, before returning for the fifth session to glaze their work.
You're welcome to keep as many pieces as you like. We kindly ask for a firing fee of £5 per kg for any work you'd like to fire. Your finished ceramics will be ready to collect from the shop approximately 3-4 weeks after the course has finished.
Term one (September / October) themes: abundance, preservation, change, leaves, wood, Equinox / Mabon
Term two (November / December) themes: gratitude, feasting, evergreens, warmth, Samhain, Solstice / Yule
Term three (January / February) themes: the return of the sun and light, anticipation, mosses and lichens, Candlemas, Imbolc, The Quickening
Term four (February / March / April) themes: awakenings, new life, green shoots, preparation, regeneration, Equinox / Ostara
Term five (April / May) themes: shifting energy, growth, flora, fire and light, Beltane
Term six (June / July) themes: growth overflowing, heat, light, pausing, Solstice / Litha
Made of Earth: Handbuilding Through the Turning Year
This course is about exploring our connection to place and time through clay with local artist & potter Lucy Cheminais. This is a ceramic handbuilding course suitable for all skill levels from complete beginners to seasoned hobbyists.
Students will learn the traditional handbuilding techniques of pinching, coiling and slab-building while making vessels and decorative pieces inspired by the rhythms of the year. Inspired by local landscapes and foraged textures, each piece will carry a connection to the season in which it is made.
Along the way, we’ll briefly explore how found and natural materials, including wood ash, local clay and rocks gathered from the landscape can become part of the making process and offer a glimpse into traditional and sustainable approaches to ceramics. Students will leave not only with technical confidence, but with a deeper understanding of how pottery can connect us to the land, our ancestors and the traditions of everyday life.
The course consists of five sessions delivered over six weeks. During the first four sessions students will focus on handbuilding and developing their pieces. This is followed by a one-week break to allow time for bisque firing, before returning for the fifth session to glaze their work.
You're welcome to keep as many pieces as you like. We kindly ask for a firing fee of £5 per kg for any work you'd like to fire. Your finished ceramics will be ready to collect from the shop approximately 3-4 weeks after the course has finished.
Term one (September / October) themes: abundance, preservation, change, leaves, wood, Equinox / Mabon
Term two (November / December) themes: gratitude, feasting, evergreens, warmth, Samhain, Solstice / Yule
Term three (January / February) themes: the return of the sun and light, anticipation, mosses and lichens, Candlemas, Imbolc, The Quickening
Term four (February / March / April) themes: awakenings, new life, green shoots, preparation, regeneration, Equinox / Ostara
Term five (April / May) themes: shifting energy, growth, flora, fire and light, Beltane
Term six (June / July) themes: growth overflowing, heat, light, pausing, Solstice / Litha