Beginners Program

Two-week Introduction to Wheel Throwing

This course is a two-week introduction to the art of wheel throwing, during which you will have a chance to immerse yourself in the practice of ceramics while also enjoying the tranquil pleasures of Sicilian life.

During the course you will learn the basics of wheel throwing: wedging, centering, throwing cups and bowls and trimming your pieces. In week two you will be able to up your level and learn to make small vases, boxes and more complex shapes. You will have a unique chance to fully immerse yourself in the practice of wheel throwing, making progress that would take you months of 3h-a-week practice. You'll walk away with a solid foundation in wheel throwing which will allow you to throw your own pieces from scratch once back home.

By the end of the retreat you will have the opportunity to choose which pieces you would like fired, glazed and shipped to you. As pieces need approximately a week to dry out, this will be done for you once the retreat has concluded.

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Outcome

Although the course is focussed on learning rather than making pieces, you will be able to keep some of the pieces you make:

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• The course includes the firing and glazing of up to 6kg of dry clay (that’s plenty of pieces for a beginner!)
• There is an extra charge of 20€/kg of clay for firing and glazing of more than 6kg of clay
• All pieces will be glazed with a standard transparent high temperature glaze
• We do not ship unglazed bisque pieces, as the chances of them breaking during shipping are too high
• Shipping costs are charged extra, and can vary from 70€ for 6kg for Germany, to 150€ for  6kg shipped to the US

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Who is the course right for?

This course is right for you if:

• you love ceramics but you've never really tried before
• you've tried other techniques but have never dared trying wheel-throwing
• you’ve tried wheel throwing before but have never learned to centre independently, or struggle to centre clay in general
• you've tried the wheel before but you've never given yourself a chance to really practise and learn, and you simply want a chance to spend a whole week practising on the wheel without worrying about anything else
• you’re ready to devote 2 full weeks to learning a new craft

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