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Workshop




Desert Spirit ceramic studio is a small beloved space in The Hague which can host max two persons plus me at the time.

Therefore, your workshop is private or a semi-private. The luxury is that the following packages are pretty flexible and adjustable to your level of experience, main interest and goal.

You can book a workshop for yourself or gift it to someone to join together to have a fun day making your own cups.

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Please take your time and read the following to make the best choice for yourself or your dear ones! ;)

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Fees and payment are possible in this page.

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Packages of "learn clay with me":

1) Hand-building techniques inspired by Japanese ceramics:

If you want to know how to slow-make an irregular but elegant, sculptural, but functional piece of ceramic like a meditative hobby on your kitchen counter, kurinuki is for you.

In a hand and mind training workshop, I will share my understanding of some Japanese ceramics including Kurinuki within the Wabi Sabi worldview. You will sculpt one or two or four! cups using clay that I have to prepare beforehand and learn several traditional decoration techniques on clay tiles.

I would love to also briefly show you how to work with plaster and make stamps, if we can manage the time.

The outcome of this workshop can look primitive or contemporary, complex or minimal. This workshop helps the participants to get to know a very useful carving technique which is not only used to make dishes, but also in making sculptures. More interestingly, this course is designed to be expressive and there is plenty of freedom and fun. It includes some useful theory as well about clay and tools.

If you want to grasp the essence of Kurinuki technique and know how you can easily make unique pieces at home using minimal tools and space including some of your kitchen utensils, this is definitely for you. You will also learn in this workshop how to slow down the production process of a single piece up to several weeks, if it helps you better to have a peaceful hobby.

There is an extremely exciting experience as a unique surprise for you in this package! 

2) The same theme workshop as number 1, but extensive in two days, 5 hours in total:

This time, I won’t prepare anything beforehand. You will learn how to start a Kurinuki cup from scratch and lots of tips on how to make the best quality slabs out of clay for your little tiles. You will also make a few small plaster or clay stamps used in some of the classical Japanese decoration techniques and therefore will learn how to deal with plaster on a small scale. You might make your signature stamp with clay or plaster. 

In this two days workshop, the number of objects made by you can be more and it can therefore be more experimental, educational and interactive. Here, you will do every single theoretically explained section in package 1 right after me. 

> To pick up two dates for this workshop, the best is to have two days in between and max 1 week. If you can attend a two days workshop, I recommend this one over number one. 


There is an extremely exciting experience as a unique surprise for you in this package as well! 

3) Several different hand-building techniques and extra decoration techniques, two days, 5 hours in total:

I will show how to make a few functional and one sculptural forms using known hand-building ceramic techniques such as coil, slab and pinching and how to combine these techniques. You will learn how to design and prepare templates on paper, then how to execute them with clay. You will make a small clay or plaster stamp which can be your signature or any pattern to use on your pieces. We will try several different creative handles for cups and what you should consider when designing a handle and more.

There is sufficient amount of time to practice each section and to make more than one piece of each technique and work on the details, if you choose a two days workshop. As always, there is theoretical information about supplies and tools and tips and tricks.


4) Come here and get your hands on clay:
If you would like to keep on working on a piece after attending a workshop or want to start a new project and only need to use the space, some tools and once in a while helpful guidance and tips from me, you are welcomed as well in my studio-cave. That can be organised by agreeing on the date and time for up to 4 hours each time. You can use materials up to 1kg and tools that are available.

5) If you are interested in a more advanced hand-building course which can be full day sessions, taking place in several days: to make larger scale sculptures, or anything that requires much more dedicated time to develop and I am experienced enough to help you with, we can discuss and organize different custom sessions.


6) Clay-spirit:

A starter pack consisting of lots of information, 4 different types of clay and 4 different clay slips, porcelain, a special inventory tool designed and made by Sepideh, a few essential good quality tools handpicked for you based on your interested style, sponge, cloth and basically everything you need not only to start, but to rock new combinations and creative techniques at your home.
This package saves you a huge amount of time and a considerable budget searching for the right clay and tool.
You can see the examples of each clay after firing in Desert Spirit studio every time you come for a visit. I would love to answer your questions regarding the package as much as I can in the future.

Notes:
- Firing costs of the pieces that are made in workshops is included in the price. Firing of your other pieces €5 each piece, if small and up to €20 for larger scales or several objects.

- Glazing is not included in these packages. If interested, after your pieces are biscuit fired and ready for glazing, you can choose from follow up short glazing packages to finalize your pieces. There will be an introduction to glaze and different glaze application techniques suitable for hobby pottery and small scale practice.

 - Besides practical techniques and theories, I always share my experiences in ceramic supply shopping, issues regarding the different clays and glazes by showing the examples, useful information about a good collection of tools, firing process, and everything that can help beginners start their journey smoothly. 

- One day workshops for ceramic are usually rare, since in most of the techniques you have to give the clay the resting time that it needs in different steps from 1 hour to 2 days, in order to get the best results and deal with clay in different stages. In package one, I prepare the bases myself at least 2 days beforehand.

Further notes!:

- If it happens that you are around when I am loading or unloading my ceramic kiln, you can watch an exciting process, especially if your piece is among them.

- It is possible to organise workshops for 6+ persons in other locations than my studio. If interested in having a class at your neighborhood community center , your garage, garden or similar, we can organize it. 

- I announce the pop up workshops for 6+ people, taking place in different locations, in my social media and mailing list once in a while, so please follow them if you are interested.

- I will always be happy and blessed if you ask for my help regarding ceramic hand-building techniques, glazing, shopping supplies, building up your own small home-studio, issues and questions that you face while working with clay and so on.

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Please NOTE: After you pay for a workshop in this page, Sepideh will contact you to arrange a date. So make sure that your contact details are placed correctly in the checkout!