Wild Clay Intensive

Dates: Monday 6 October – Friday 10 October 2025

Time: Teaching starts at 10am and finishes around 4pm.

Cost: Introductory price of £500 including VAT (includes tuition, materials, consumables, firings, PPE and 4 nights accommodation).

Catering: Not included

Places: 8 (Beginner+)

Information on access is at the bottom of this page.

*We can offer accommodation on the Sunday evening for people travelling from further afield for an additional £36. Please email accounts@ssw.org.uk if this is required, following booking online.

Our Wild Clay Intensive is an in-depth course exploring experimental and sculptural applications of found and responsibility foraged materials within ceramics processes. It is a deep dive into working with found (wild) clay to create clay bodies, glazes and slips, as well as creating tools to use for surface decoration.

Across the 5 days, participants will examine ways of mixing, formulating, and testing found clays and glazes and will cover various methods of applying surface decoration, glaze application and kiln firings. We will work with a selection of pre-sourced clays from across Scotland as well as work with clays you bring from your local areas.

We will also take time to:
– Look at examples of historical and contemporary work from artists working with wild materials
– Explore the local region’s geological history including local rock types such as schists, phyllites, and granites, and their relevance to ceramics.
– Learn methods for processing wild clay including slaking, sieving, drying, and testing plasticity
– Forage and process natural fluxes

As well as bringing your own wild clay, participants on this course are encouraged to bring a range of bisque fired pieces to experiment with foraged glazes. If you are bringing test tiles please bring self supporting/standing test tiles (for example T shaped tiles or small tumblers). We will be firing to Cone 6 (1243 degrees celsius), in oxidation, so make sure your test tiles are suitable for this temperature and atmosphere. A white stoneware is great for seeing how certain glazes react. Test tiles are also available upon request.

We will also have some time for your own making within the 5 days and by the end of the course you will have a range of test tiles of materials, glazes and clays to take away for future reference and experimentation. During the 5 day course we will have multiple firings and participants are welcome to take along pots and sculptures to glaze. However these will be fired depending on what space is available in the kiln and priority given to test tiles.

Through the course participants will develop confidence to spot and dig their own clay and glaze materials, and develop knowledge to process clay with minimal impact, resources and tools. 

A full induction to the workshop will be provided so no previous experience is necessary.