Ranch Clay: Earth, Smoke & Fire

Discover ceramics from the ground up—literally. In this immersive five-day workshop, students will explore the complete transformation of earth into fired ceramic work using clay gathered from the Ghost Ranch landscape.

We’ll begin by walking from Pot Hollow to harvest local red clay-bearing earth, then learn how to screen, process, test, and prepare it for use. Working with the unique qualities of this wild clay, students will create individual forms using hand building techniques such as pinching and coiling, with opportunities for wheel throwing for more experienced potters. As the work dries, we’ll explore sanding, burnishing, slips, and other surface treatments that celebrate the natural character of the clay.

After bisque firing, students will prepare their pieces for an outdoor fume firing using saggars, smoke, and selected natural and combustible materials to create atmospheric surfaces that cannot be precisely predicted or repeated. The week culminates in a communal firing, unloading, and discussion of the finished work.

Open to all experience levels, this workshop offers a rare opportunity to experience ceramics as a direct conversation between land, material, maker, smoke, and fire.

Please click here for a brief overview & introduction from the Instructor, Supply List and Workshop Schedule.

Program Tuition: $725 (does not include Room & Board)