Our full five day retreat integrates the creative process with informational hands-on learning. Having a full week to ground together gives us time to dive into wild clay processing and all the things one needs to know to begin working with foraged clays at home, as well as practice various hand building techniques with space and time for the creative process to move through us. We will integrate indoor and outdoor studio time, group time, and solo time.

No prior experience with ceramics is necessary to participate. If the clay calls you, please join and know that no skill is needed for shaping earth, it is inherently human.

Unlike mid-range and high fire pottery, earthenware specifically refers to low fired ceramics made with wild clays. Pit, ground or open firings are practiced by many cultures around the world, each with rich pottery traditions, cuisines, and histories.

An open fire or small clay oven can only reach bisque temps, it is not hot enough to melt glazes, so techniques such as burnishing and sealing have been used instead of glazes to create finished functional, everyday use ceramics for the kitchen and home.

A key difference between earthenware and glazed pottery is in its durability. While we in the West have prioritized its look and durability, glazed pottery is essentially permanent, taking as much as 1 million years to decompose. Given our global consumption of resources, this can be seen as a significant reason to make more earthenware. At the end of earthenware’s life cycle, it can be broken up and composted, returned to the soil, helping to not only trap valuable nutrients but also retain water.

Week Overview

Sunday afternoon/evening: Arrival & settling in, dinner

Monday - Wednesday: Time on the land, foraging and processing clay and other materials, handbuilding and creative exploration, decorating and burnishing

Thursday: Clay lecture and hands-on experimentation: clay chemistry, geological narratives, blending theory, addatives, firing ranges, troubleshooting, and more! Glaze tests!

Friday: All day pit firing ceremony and evening pottery sealing

Saturday Morning: Closing & departure

Costs

Full Workshop Fee is $750, which includes five full days of facilitated learning, making, and ritual with finished fired pieces and all materials for making, as well as organic dinners every night and access to kitchen. Lodging is not included.

Center for Rural Livelihoods is a sustainable education and retreat center in Cottage Grove, Oregon 2 hours and 30 minutes south of Portland. There are a few lodging options onsite for the week. Car and tent camping is $90, a dorm room with a bunk bed is $150 for the week, which can be single occupany or split with other participants.

$150 deposit will hold your place, with a monthly payment option of $100 or $200. Please be in touch to confirm monthly payment schedule.

Dinners Sunday through Friday night are provided, but breakfast and lunch will be on your own. There are full kitchen and fridge amenities on site. The registration form will confirm your lodging preference, as well as food restrictions and preferences. Camping or room payments will be sent directly to the event center.

Please visit whitesnakearts.com to register.