We had lots of rain this winter, especially during February. Whereas it was miserable outside we spent a fabulous time in the atelier making pottery. During the three workshops we created beautiful plant pots with different techniques and dove into the world of face modelling. People connecting, talking and laughing, touching clay, concentration and lots of creative energy – all was there and we had a great time.

I took some pictures during the workshops. You can see them here.

And have a look at what turned out. You can see all our finished pieces here:

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If you are interested in participating in one of the next workshops please note that there won’t be any before October / November because I’m busy during the tourist season. As soon as new workshops are planned I will announce them on this site. If you would like to get a message you can subscribe here.

Thank you all and have a wonderful summer!

Barbara

Ελληνικά

Let’s prepare for spring with new flower pots for your balcony, terrace or kitchen window ledge. In two of the three upcoming February workshops you will have the chance to make your very own unique pots.

In the past two years I offered several workshops where we made beautifully decorated plant pots out of clay. We decorated them with all kinds of stamps, even grass or flowers which would give a nice structure and motif to the surface. You never tire of finding new ideas.
In the PLANT POT WORKSHOP WITH STAMPS we will use this technique. You can find many examples in the gallery under Plant Pots.

In the PLANT POT WORKSHOP WITH ENGOBE AND SCRATCHING we will use a different technique for decorating. We will paint a layer of engobe on the surface of the pots and scratch a design we like into it. Afterwards the pots get dried, fired, glazed with a transparent glaze and fired a second time (if you wish to have them glazed).

The subject of the third WORKSHOP will be the HUMAN FACE. All levels are welcome. It is amazing how a clump of clay turns step by step into something almost alive….and it doesn’t matter how realistic nose, mouth, eyes are formed. They get their own life and expression anyway and turn into something very personal and unique.

We will use the local red clay and leave the fired pieces in terracotta colour.

Here are the dates for all three workshops:

PLANT POT WORKSHOP WITH ENGOBE AND SCRATCHING

10/2/2019 Sunday,     10:00-17:00     with a break for lunch which I will provide.
16/2/2019 Saturday,  10:00-13:00     painting with engobe and scratching the design.

PLANT POT WORKSHOP WITH STAMPS

17/2/2019 Sunday,     10:00-17:00     with a break for lunch which I will provide.

MODELLING FACES WORKSHOP

24/2/2019 Sunday,     10:00-17:00     with a break for lunch which I will provide.

• All the necessary materials (clay, engobe, glaze, stamps…) as well as the firing and lunch are provided. For the second Plant Pot Workshop you can also bring supplementary stamps or things you want to use as stamps.
• My atelier in Modi is about 20 minutes drive from Chania. If you don’t have a car, there is a bus from Chania to Gerani from where I can also pick you up.
• For any questions or registration call me under: 697 422 11 51 or write an email to schnyder.barbara@gmail.com.

I’m looking forward to welcoming you in my Atelier!

Ελληνικά

We finished the last sequence of ceramic workshops of the year. It’s so nice to see people with a happy smile on their face when they are going home with their new unique handmade creations. It seemed that all had a great time touching clay – I definitely had a great time holding these courses and I will do so again  in 2019 starting a new series in February.

If you want to be informed as soon as dates and details are out, subscribe here if you haven’t done so yet.

And if you want to see some pictures of moments I caught with my camera during the workshops, click here.

I also added pictures of the finished pieces on the gallery page. You’ll find them under reliefs and mobiles in the gallery of our pottery work.

Thank you all for being a part of it. I wish you all the best and good health, enough time and of course lots of motivation for being creative in the new and fresh year ahead!

Barbara

Ελληνικά

…the shelves in my atelier are filled up with very personal and beautiful pieces that my students made during the last three workshops here in Modi.

I’m always amazed at how different the objects turn out from the same starting point – a lump of clay. It’s nice to see ideas getting realized and other ones turning into something totally different and unexpected… and often even better!

Sometimes one struggles, has to start all over again, sometimes it just falls into place and you don’t know how it happened… Either way, each piece has gone through a whole creative process with personal energy and effort put into it and that’s exactly what makes them so personal and unique. And they bring you a lot of joy.

But right now our pottery work is still sitting on the shelf, drying and waiting to get fired, glazed and fired again – that’s the second part of the process to get the pottery work finished.

If you want to know how they turn out, don’t miss the next post where I will put photos of the finished objects.

Meanwhile, you can enjoy some impressions from the workshops.

For those who are interested in participating in the next Ceramic Workshops, please note that there probably won’t be any before November because I will be busy during the tourist season. In case I find a gap for a Day Workshop end of June / beginning of July, I will let you know.

The best way to stay informed about new dates of Ceramic Workshops and other news from the Touching Clay world, is to subscribe and you will get a message as soon as news are out.

I wish you all a happy and creative week!

Barbara