the earth speaks, may we learn to listen: 4-week immersive clay series

Handbuilding Series

Dates (TBD*):

SPRING 2025 COHORT: Sundays April 27, May 4, May 11, May 18*

Workshop Description:

This 4-week container focuses on the holistic integration of our relationship to the natural cycles of the Earth, community and self, while learning about ancestral pottery techniques derived from indigenous groups of the Philippines, Mesoamerica, Asia, and Africa. While we will cover modern and traditional pottery techniques, this container will also cultivate a space to discuss and reflect on our own lineages, cultural and creative practices, and diasporic stories through the clay. Ultimately, coming to a deeper understanding of the anthropology of clay and the interweaving of humans and earth. Participants will walk away from this container with 4-5 handmade vessels. This program is intended for those who have intermediate experience with clay, although beginners are welcome.

Energy Exchange: $222 - $333 /person (includes: all tools and materials, firing and glazing services, 1 open studio session1)

Payment plans available, email mayari@artillery-ag.com

Curriculum:

Gathering #1: Wild Clay Foraging and Intro to the Elements – 4 hrs +/-

We will open this container with the ocean and mountains in Daly City, allowing our vessels to be immersed in nature. This half day excursion is centered around the elements - water, earth, fire, air, and the fundamentals of working with wild clay. We also will incorporate practices that honor and recognize the value of the land that we will collect the clay from, through ritual and gratitude.

Techniques Covered:

Identifying clay deposits & proper harvesting etiquette
Processing wild clay (sifting, moisture, additives, color)
Pinch pots, coils, figure sculpting, tools

Gathering #2: Elemental Ritual Vessel (earth, water, fire) – 3 hrs

Reflect on your own daily rituals. What part of your practice brings you joy? Brings you deeper to your spirit? Which element resonates with you most this season? This elemental ritual vessel is the gift to yourself. A daily reminder of the love and commitment to your wellness and growth journey. Building upon the techniques from our first gathering, we will meet in the studio to create the remainder of our projects inspired by your daily rituals.

Techniques Covered:

Overview of studio equipment (wedging table, slab roller, extruder)
Introduction to clay bodies and their applications
Global design elements (tools for design, sgraffito, inlay, nerikomi, patterns, shape)

Gathering #3: Honoring Your Inner Guides and Divine Allies – 3 hrs

This session dives in the sculptural work inspired by your own cultural lineage. Aside from the practicality of functional vessels, the art of sculpture has its own value. Clay has been used as a medium for storytelling, documentation, and ceremonial artifacts for millenia. Many cultures have revered their beloved deities through sculptural homage, often as a way to ensure protection over their lands, their families, and their ways of life. Allow your inner guides to connect you to the people, places, practices you care deeply about, and what that can be represented as a sculpture. Draw inspiration from your background, and allow the creative flow to lead the way.

Techniques Covered:

Sculptural techniques and symbolism from around the world
Basics of sculpture
Moisture levels and texture for sculpting
Incorporating functionality (musical flutes, masks, vessels)
Firing methods

Gathering #4: Natural Finishing Techniques (glazing with natural ingredients and alternatives) – 3 hrs

In our final session, we touch on glazing and finishing of your fired vessels. Natural additives to glazes, such as egg shells, plant ashes, and wild clay. We will also cover alternative methods of firing and finishing vessels with beeswax, without the use of glaze firing.

Open Studio Session

We will have 1 open studio session which will be decided amongst the group within the duration of the course to finish working on projects. These sessions will be focused on independent work with an instructor present for support. As clay is a slow process, this will allow us to move in better alignment to the natural pace of clay.