Who is The Course Right For?

This course is right for you if:

• You can already independently and autonomously center +1.5kg of clay.
• you already have a hand at doing bowls and have tried larger objects, but could use some help throwing above 2kg.
• You are a ceramics student or practising ceramicist with wheel-throwing foundations and wish to perfect your skills .
• You want to practise throwing taller, thinner, more regular pieces.
• You want to practise throwing larger pieces and centering larger amounts of clay.
• You already have intermediate experience on the wheel and you simply want a chance to spend a whole week practising without worrying about anything else.

Experience Sicily

During this week, you won’t just get a ceramics course. We’ve also organised a program of activity so that you can connect with Sicilian culture, get to know beautiful Salemi and its rich history and territory. 

You will:

• Eat breakfast like the locals do in our favourite local bars.
• Enjoy meals in a variety of authentic, local Sicilian restaurants / home-restaurants.
• Carry out at least one excursion to a local cultural heritage site, either Cretto di Burri or Segesta Archeological site.

The Project

The Salemi School of Ceramics is a social enterprise that has been opened to create a learning centre for contemporary ceramics, the first of its kind in Sicily.

The School has been created in partnership with the local town of Salemi, which has provided the gorgeous space - the Chiostro Di Sant’Agostino - that will be used for the school.

Salemi has a beautiful historical centre and because it is quiet and peaceful, is the perfect place for a mindful ceramics retreat.

What's Included

• Ceramics classes and mentorship by established ceramicists
• All materials
• Palermo Airport pick up (12 noon Sunday) or Palermo City Pick Up (11am Sunday). There is an additional charge for any pick-ups at other times
• Return Palermo Airport transfer and Palermo City drop off on Saturday, departing Salemi at 7am
• 2 x Yoga and 2 x meditation classes
• All meals and non-alcoholic beverages from Sunday dinner through to Saturday breakfast
• Glazing and firing a max of 3kg of pieces (this will be done after the retreat has finished)

What's Not Included

• Accommodation
• Shipping of pieces that will be fired by the studio
• Additional cost for firing/glazing more than 3kg of pieces (it’s 20€/kg for each extra kg of clay)
• Alcoholic beverage

A Typical Day

Classes will be held from Monday through to Friday. On Sunday, there will be a welcome dinner and on Saturday, we will bid you farewell. Classes will be 4h each morning.

(9am-1pm) and 2/3h each afternoon (2-5pm), except one afternoon of cultural activities.

Order of the day:

• Yoga (2 classes x week)
• Breakfast
• First Class 9am-10.30am
• Break
• Second Class 11am-1pm
• Lunch
• Third Class 2pm-5pm
• Finish

Our Teachers

We have different visiting teachers every month, chosen amongst the most brilliant Italian and European ceramicists and ceramics instructors.

To see which teacher will lead our upcoming beginners course and learn more about them, go to View all programs and click on the teacher’s name.

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(📷 by Sabela Andrés @sabelaandres)