Join marina on the beautiful island of Aegina, Greece to explore your creativity through clay and play.

All you need to bring with you is your curiosity, an open mind & heart. A swim suit and walking shoes too!

In ancient times, Aegina was known for its water jugs made from a pale coloured, local clay that kept the water cool and fresh. These jars were made up to a few years ago by the last potters of the island. Today, no one is left to carry this tradition, so in a way, all of us on the island working with clay, professionally or not, would like to see ourselves safeguarding this tradition.

The workshop is hands on: we start by exploring Aegina and its local clays. We visit two of the areas where traditional potters used to pick their clay from, as well as explore nature and pick elements to inspire our work. The rest of the week we work in the studio, prepare the wild clay and get our hands dirty. We continue our exploration using studio clays, and play with them through a series of exercises to familiarise ourselves with their various qualities. All throughout, marina will talk to you about the properties and varieties of clays, the basics on slips and glazes if necessary, offering a foundation for experimentation and giving space for unexpected discoveries to appear while creating pieces free from judgement. The basic aim is to dive into the creative process with clay as our medium. By the end of the workshop you will have a selection of pieces handmade by you, tactile memories of your time on the island.

Groups are intentionally small: we usually run our retreats with anything between 1 to 8 participants. In this way, workshops remain intimate and everyone gets full attention. We have created a safe and supportive space where you can freely explore and experiment, make mistakes and learn without fear of judgement. We ask you to respect and honour this space so that each one's expression and creativity can be met. You will have full access to our equipped ceramics studio, where inspiration flows and imagination is encouraged.

Maximum number of participants: 8

The programme in more detail

We have a full 8 hour day, which more or less breaks into 3.5 hours in the morning, 3.5 hours in the afternoon & 1 hour lunch break. The programme is always elastic to allow for organic changes and needs that may occur.

Saturday early evening: welcome meeting and introductions at the studio.

Sunday: Morning excursion to the two areas where we can dig wild clay. As well as getting clay we will pick up shards, leaves, rocks, tree barks, flowers and whatever else inspires us to impress onto the clay. Lunch out. Afternoon at the studio to make small test with different wild and studio clays.

Monday - Wednesday: All day at the studio, getting our hands dirty, trying all three basic hand building techniques: pinch, coil, slab. We will then choose decorating techniques to be applied on our slipped pieces: sgraffito, colours with oxides, stains, slips and glazes. By the end of Wednesday we will have glazed our pieces.

Lunch at the studio.

Thursday: Kiln loading after final touches and details.

Lunch at the studio. Free afternoon

Friday: Morning visit to the Arhaeological Museum of Aegina.

Lunch out. Free afternoon.

Friday early evening OR Saturday morning: We open the kiln, welcome all surprises and discuss the results.

You can choose to pack your pieces and take them with you, or we can ship them on your behalf.

"Working with clay is a meditative activity, and it is with this meditative approach that I will guide you, whether you are new, or not, to clay. I will show you how to listen to clay, to what is happening right here and now as we hold it in our hand, as we shape it, as we look at our pieces in the making. The possibilities are many: it is a question of entering an open and honest dialogue with the clay, of creating while listening to the clay, listening to what it allows you to do, what is suggests. It requires our full presence and conscious awareness. The dialogue continues until we have found harmony rather than perfection - the balance that makes everything look just right."