What you’ll learn 
How to dig, process and prep wild clay for a clamp kiln firing. The ‘what, why, how’ of clamp likns.
How to make pots using hand-building techniques that allow you to create a variety of forms.
How to paint your pots with earth pigments.

Day 1
Dig clay onsite and prep it so that it’s strong enough to survive the clamp kiln.
You’ll make a couple of items, using various hand-building techniques, including simple moulds.
Earth pigments are provided as paint to decorate your pots. You’ll learn which natural pigments work on pottery, and how to prep and apply them so they’re permanent on your pots.
You’ll have the opportunity to make your own paint brushes from natural wild materials.

On this course we don’t go into the details of finding clay in the landscape nor the technicals of temper (these are taught on Wild Pottery Smoke Cloud). This means there’s more time on this course for the actual making.

Day 2
We’ll work together to set up the clamp kiln, which includes digging, chopping, shovelling and foraging.
Once the kiln is going, we’ll keep a close eye on it for the first few hours to monitor its progress.
You’ll learn how to read the signs that indicate what’s happening under the mound of earth covering the fire and the pots.
The kiln burns overnight and into the next day. If you’re camping onsite you can observe its progress at intervals.

Day 3
Once the pots are cool enough we’ll unearth them.
You’ll learn to read how the firing went by what remains of the clamp kiln and fuel, and by the pots themselves.
As on all Wild Pottery courses, you’ll ‘disappear’ the firing (the clamp kiln) so that we leave no trace.

Wild Pottery Surgery: bring any wild pottery you’ve made outside of the course, as there will be time for Ruby to answer your questions / troubleshoot any issues.

What’s included
A simple but hearty and delicious organic vegetarian lunch is provided (Days 1 & 2), cooked on the camp fire. We’ll also have have a kettle on the fire, with teas, biscuits and fresh fruit available all day.

I aim to offer you a satisfying learning experience as well as an enjoyable time away from it all.

To support you in getting the most from the days, we’ll connect to the woodland surroundings through a short and simple, guided mindfulness-based practice.

Who this is for
Suitable for all levels.
However, if you’re interested in learning the in-depth technicals of wild clay and temper, Wild Pottery Smoke Cloud is for you as a starting point.

This may not be for you if you’re a studio potter hoping to learn from the course how to make your studio practice more sustainable. Although some elements of what you’ll learn will be transferable to the studio, Ruby doesn’t teach about studio techniques. The focus of this course is on wild clay and clamp kiln firing.

Check out all my Wild Pottery courses

Groups are limited to 12 participants