shankin pottery
Italy Workshop: Tentative Schedule
Trains arrive on Sunday afternoon into the station at Certaldo
Vans will be waiting to take you to La Meridiana, the International Ceramic Center
There will be time to relax and settle in to your rooms
There will be some introductions and getting to know one another out on the terrace
You will be taken to a local restaurant for Dinner.
Monday morning 8:30 we will all eat breakfast together (usually that is on your own)
Class will start around 9:00
A tour of the studio space will help orient you
Students will get settled into their wheel space and get a feel for the clay
A basic throwing demo will be given before lunch
Lunch ( hard to have that little 5 letter word reflect the exquisite culinary delight we
are served each noon)
When you can walk again class will begin.
A demo will be given .
The rest of the afternoon is free to work
On this first day at 5:00 we will all travel to Certaldo and go grocery shopping(one of my favorite things)
Home…supper (you prepare for yourselves)….bed
Tuesday through Friday the schedule will be
Class begins at 9:00 starting off with a morning demo
You get to work all day with one on one instruction and assistance.
Lunch
Return to work
Espresso break
Work
Tuesday: Pot luck supper and slide show
We will make a few late afternoon excursions to local hill towns to get a feel for the area and to visit local potters.
ALL SIDE TRIPS ARE OPTIONAL. IF AT ANY POINT YOU PREFER TO STAY BACK AND WORK YOU ARE TOTALLY FREE TO DO SO
STUDIO IS OPEN EACH DAY FROM 8:00 AM TO 8:00 PM Closed on Sunday
FREQUENT RUNS TO TOWN WILL TAKE PLACE TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO BUY WHATEVER THEY NEED FOR THEMSELVES WHILE THEY ARE THERE.
The weekend is free for travel. A delightful man, Tomek, has many years offered to tour people around the Chianti Region….taking them to vineyards and pecorino farms and monasteries. If anyone might be interested in that, a tour can be arranged (fee additional)
Taxis connect you to the train station and the trains out of Certaldo go everywhere. Your weekend travel has endless possibilities. Florence and Sienna are 1 hour away. Lucca and Pisa maybe 2.
Sunday night dessert on the terrace…travel tales
Monday through Friday of the Second Week:
Class begins at 9:00 with a demo
Lunch at noon
Work in the studio
Espresso break
Work
Supper
Relax
Bed
We continue through the second week with demos and making pots.
We are not intending to keep many pieces. No glaze firing will take place. The occasional piece that feels important can be bisqued and taken home in that state as a reminder of things learned or to be fired in familiar home kilns.
We will have 1 long afternoon excursion. This year we will go to Siena with a guide. Other late afternoons we may choose to visit more local potters.
Other experiences may be made available (fee additional)
Our chef Lucia, usually offers a cooking class (not to be missed)
We can go have a wine , olive and chocolate tasting at a local organic vineyard
Last night Pizza party
Saturday by 10:00am all students taken to the trains to head for further travels or airports and home.
This is a rough guide to how our time will be spent there. It is flexible. On occasion we may petition for late night hours in the studio, Sunday morning we might decide to go to a café in San Gimignano….things will unfold as they will but the sense of how our time will be spent is well represented by the schedule. The mix of studio work and time exploring is important to have a sense of before you decide if this is right for you.
Please email with any questions, I would love to talk to you about it.
Ellen