Clay Time Is Now: Calm Your Mind At This Pottery Workshop In Rural Maharashtra

There is something about the pliability of clay that has always fascinated me — something very ancient and essential about it. Clay-craft is one of the world's oldest art forms, going back to ancient China in the 18th millennium BCE. People have been working with clay for thousands of years, and yet it never stops being new. People never run out of things to make or do with clay. It reinvents itself, rediscovers itself, and in the process of being shaped by you, it shapes you too.

In my pre-adolescent years, I spent a lot of time in my parents' studios, and one of my favourite pastimes was to make small figures of animals out of clay while they worked on their own projects. These formative experiences shaped my perceptions about the materiality, malleability, and resilience of clay and allowed me to look at Bengal's rich history of terracotta craft in a new light as an adult. During holiday visits to my mother's ancestral home in Bankura, too, we'd often visit Panchmura — a heritage village known for traditional terracotta craft. I would spend hours there, and sometimes entire days, watching the artisans craft all kinds of things out of clay.

Thinking about it now, I wish I could return to those days. Sadly, I can't.

If you are in Mumbai and you feel the same way, however, you're in luck. Vagabond Experiences has the perfect workshop you. This November, they are back with new batches of Claying Around — A Countryside Pottery Workshop in collaboration with Winding Road Studios.

Tucked in between a hill and a lake on a 30-acre working permaculture farm only two hours from Mumbai, Winding Road Studios in Titwala is the perfect place to slow down and allow yourself to grow as nature intended. Specialising in glazed stoneware ceramics, it is both a production studio that sells mugs, bowls, tiles and other functional ware, as well as a training studio where students can spend a day or a month immersed in clay. Experience the rhythm of a studio, be inspired b y nature, practice amongst experienced potters and explore the limitless world of clay waiting at your fingertips.

This introductory half-day workshop will guide you through the fundamentals of working with clay and help you create your very own ceramic mug or a bowl. As part of the workshop, you will learn about the different types of clay and the processes involved in preparing and using them to make pottery. You will also learn techniques such as hand-building, throwing, and have a guided session on the potter’s wheel. Even though some of these may be a little advanced for beginners, you will still be able to make your own signature creation! And if you like what you create, the good folks at Winding Road Studios will bake (bisque fire) and send your creation over to your home!

Sounds like a good time to me!

Learn more about the workshop and book your spot here.

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