Food, Fibre & Fearlessness - 10 Day Fibre Arts Retreat in Italy
November 7 - 16, 2023

This is the retreat I’ve always dreamed of sharing with you; full of life and art and learning and really good food! You’ll want to join us if:

1. You want to eat well and to immerse yourself in the Italian way of life, which is centred around the (healthy) enjoyment of (healthy) food. There will be cooking classes and wine tastings and lunch in the olive grove. You’ll walk on the beach, soak in the wood-fired hot tub, and immerse yourself in the ancient history of the area. In short; you’ll live la dolce vita (the sweet life)

2. You want to expand the range of techniques in your fibre arts toolkit; you will print on cloth using leaves and flowers (ecoprinting), make botanical inks and paint with them, sculpt with mulberry paper, paint on silk, dye wool and felt it, dye cotton using shibori bindings and indigo, and carve lino blocks to print on cloth. There will be a wealth of materials and information to inspire and expand your creativity. You’ll go home with a written description and examples of each technique, and a heart full of inspiration.

3. You want to learn to be fearless and live in the moment; to approach life and art with joy and immediacy and energy. This is a transformative course designed to immerse you in a new way of thinking about life and love and art.

For more details (and a look at where the retreat is held), start with the course info, but look around the whole website too! This is where I live now.

$3000 CAD - includes 9 nights accommodations (shared doubles), all meals and drinks, all trips and tastings, all tools and materials, train station pick-up and drop-off.

Handbuilt Ceramics and Soda Kiln Building with Emma Smith
March 1 - 21, 2024

I am thrilled to be partnering with talented ceramicist and kiln builder extraordinaire, Emma Smith for three weeks of making and learning and playing with clay. Divided into two 10 day courses with a full day between, these courses are designed to help you move forward in your ceramics practice while enjoying living the Italian life.

Handbuilt Ceramics (March 1 - 10)

These aren’t your elementary pinch pots!

In this course we will push the limits of the clay pinching technique, using coils to make larger and more complex forms. Emma will cover several methods for pinching and coiling clay, allowing you to break out of the round and develop new and exciting forms.

We will cover the basics of hand turning, a traditional technique used internationally for forming vessels with no potter’s wheel, in combination with her personal approach of ‘sculpting’ the vessel using small slabs and coils. During the week we will explore the fundamentals of what makes a pot functional, who we are as creators, and the conceptual intention behind our choices in making.

Building a Gas Soda Kiln (March 12 - 21)

During this hands on course, we will build a new soda kiln from start to finish, and we will end with a firing!

Emma will cover all the basics of kiln building, from required tools and best safety practices, to proper brick laying technique and terminology. Together we will start from the ground up, covering the requirements for a solid foundation, design considerations for efficient air flow and combustion, how to insulate, and most importantly, how to have fun with bricks!

We will also talk about various kiln designs and the benefits and differences of each. If you’ve ever been interested in building a kiln of your own, or simply keen to lay brick and have a better understanding of how kilns function, this is the course for you.

$3120 for each course, or $5450 for both! This includes all meals and drinks, shared (double) lodging in one of our little cottages, all materials and instruction, all trips and tours, and all cooking classes and other experiences onsite, and taxi pick up and drop off from the Grosseto train station

You can find more information about handbuilding here, and kiln building here.