Immersive workshop with Whitesnake Arts
Shaping Earth and Fire immersion is a devotional week of wild embodiment, creative exploration through clay, and community ritual.
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 inherdently human.
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 hrs 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 $200 until the retreat. 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.
Direct any questions to: whitesnakearts@gmail.com