Making

These aren’t your elementary pinch pots! In this workshop we will push the limits of the clay pinching technique, using coils to make larger and more complex forms. Emma will cover several methods for pinching and coiling clay, allowing you to break out of the round and develop new and exciting forms.

We will cover the basics of hand turning, a traditional technique used internationally for forming vessels with no potter’s wheel, in combination with her personal approach of ‘sculpting’ the vessel using small slabs and coils. During the week we will explore the fundamentals of what makes a pot functional, who we are as creators, and the conceptual intention behind our choices in making.

At the end of the week we will cover decoration techniques, and culminate in firing our work in the wood kiln. All levels welcome.

Firing

Through slide shows and group discussions, we will come to understand the different aesthetic effects possible with different kilns and firing methods. During the workshop, we will work together to fire up both the Olsen Fast Fire wood kiln and the raku kiln!

(For those staying for the Kiln-Building Workshop, you will also have the option to fire work in the Soda Kiln.)

Cost

€2170 includes (almost) everything;
9 nights accommodations, all meals and drinks, all trips and tastings, all tools and materials, train station pick-up and drop-off. (It does not include shipping your work home.)

**If you are also attending the kiln building workshop, the total cost is €3800, which includes both workshops and the lodging and meals for the two nights between workshops.

About the Instructor

Emma Smith is a ceramic artist, kiln builder and mover from Ontario, Canada. Growing up in the shadow of the Niagara Escarpment along the shores of the expansive Great Lakes, she aims to celebrate her relationship with place and environment through her artistic practice.

Emma works primarily in woodfired ceramics, where the pieces are made to be experienced quietly, encouraging moments of contemplation and reflection. Alongside her clay practice, she is inspired by the physical body, and loves to explore new ways to story-tell through movement. She is a regular performer with HAG, an aerial and stilt theatre company that produces narratives using puppetry, clowning, and circus arts.

Her current body of work focuses on love of place, and significant moments in time, while threading her two loves (clay, and the body) together. When she isn’t on the road firing or building kilns, you can find her at her home in Jerseyville ON.

Food and Drink

We will indulge ourselves in the best that Tuscany has to offer. Three meals a day, Italian style. Dinners will begin with an aperitivo, there will be wine at each lunch and dinner, and a ‘digestive’ will round things out (there are always non-alcoholic options, and all of it’s included in the price)

But not only will we eat, we’ll also learn how some of it’s done! Try your hand at our ricotta gnocchi or gnudi. Learn the tricks of a terrific tiramisu. And make your own wood-fired pizza from scratch. You’ll be able to go home and impress your friends with more than your ceramics!

Several local trips will round out our enjoyment of Italy.