Pottery has always been an art and science of the earth. Foraging for local clays begins a conversation with our local landscape in which our understanding of the geological narratives and mineral personalities in our hands deepens with time and experimentation.

This two day intro explores the complex chemistry and creativity of working with wild clays of the Pacific Northwest and how to integrate them into your pottery practice.

Saturday March 8th and Sunday March 9th from 12 - 4pm followed Ancient Forms, a three week wild clay handbuilding and pit firing series.

The first day will be an outdoor foraging location just outside Eugne and will include:

• an exploration of the different clay personalities one finds when foraging,

• how to read the landscape and identify appropriate places for foraging,

• how to process clay for best handbuilding or wheel throwing results, and

• the basics of blending theory, additives, and more

• hands on blending and testing exercise 

On our second day, we will:

• make one handbuilt or wheel thrown pot to take home after being bisqued the following week

• discuss mid-range firing protocols and techniques, as well as

• overview the basics of natural glazes and slips, with some hands on test making.

Ancient Forms is a three part series exploring the the techniques of earthenware pottery, including handbuilding forms, tools, burishing and low fire seals, as well as open firing methods. All classes are at Wildling Collaborative Arts in Eugene, Oregon.

Earthenware is a collaboration with the elements

• Shaping functional forms by hand with the diverse personalities of wild clays

• Polishing and decorating with simple tools and clay slips

• Listening and responding to the ways of fire to transform our pottery

• Learning to care for the unique needs of unglazed pottery

Earthenware is the oldest form of pottery. It is a lineage craft in many cultures around the world, each with rich traditional cuisines, historical shapes and decorations, as well as family claims to clay gathering sites. However, with the prevalence of technological method for making pottery, these ancient techniques for building with earth and firing on the earth have been less valued and visible in modern ceramics.

The very use of wild clays can be a profoundly enriching way to connect with the land and to literally build a relationship with it.

Earthenware is low fire pottery, brought to sintering temperatures (aka bisque) either on open ground or in a clay or brick oven. The clay walls of earthenware pottery remain porous, but are then sealed with beeswax, starches or fats to make them water tight. In order to make a smooth and tight seal, burnishing with a polished stone is done instead of glazing.

Earthenware has traditionally been used for water vessels, oil containers, oil lamps, cooking pots, baking dishes, bowls, cups, and other miscellaneous jars and crocks. If kept clean and dry, there should be no concern for food and drink uses.

Class Format

Saturday March 15th and 22nd from 1-4pm
The first two Saturday’s are dedicated hand building sessions with a Southern Willamette Valley wild clay blend. Each hand building class will start with a guided project. If there is time remaining after that all are welcome to make additional pieces. Participants are invited to continue their projects or make new pieces* at home or at the Sunday open studio at Wildling.

Saturday March 29th from 9am-4pm 
The last Saturday of March** is our all-day pit firing ceremony at Wildling, from 9am – 4pm. This includes beeswaxing at the end of the day, so that all functional pieces can be taken home ready to use. 

*Beyond the clay include in the fee for the class, up to 5 pounds of local wild clay is available for purchase to students for anyone wishing to make more pieces outside of Saturday class time to bring to the community firing. 
**Open pit firing is entirely weather dependent, so in the case of rain we will be rescheduling for the following weekend, April 5th.

Cocreating with Timberland is a retreat, workshop, and ritual all in one.

Over two days, we will build intimacy with the logged landscape, gather and experiment with pigments and other found natural materials, and take time and space to converse with these wounded places through our art.

A central theme of this retreat is to turn towards the wounded and often avoided reality of how the earth is treated in our bioregion and to prioritize time with the land to create beauty together.

Art is not a product. There is a place in our creative practice for responding to the challenges of our time, for the full range of our feelings, and for making images that are not pretty or good or easy to digest.

The land sectioned off and managed for timber, both privately and publicly in the Pacific Northwest is vast. We are surrounded by this economic and political mentality whether we give our attention to it or not. The history of colonial land management has been a short but thorough onslaught to the native ecology, soils, and watersheds of our area.

We avoid these impact zones. They are not seen as recreation destinations. Even though so much timber land is our public land, as the forest service likes to remind us, so few of us witness these places, let alone feel connected to them or understand how they are managed.

In Cocreating with Timberland, we will practice bearing witness. Trebbe Johnson, founder of radical joy for hard times, presents this idea as a way to break down the walls that isolate us from the pain and healing of the Earth.

Listen to Trebbe’s interview on For the Wild Podcast

We will work with our grief, rage, or numbness and notice the resiliency, healing and joy that can be found in timber managed forests.

Retreat Format

The first morning will start at a public timber parcel, introducing ourselves to this place, settling into our senses, learning about historic and current land management practices, and gathering minerals for pigment making.

In the afternoon, we will return to our rural forest studio to process mineral pigments and learn the craft of paint making; from refining raw material to adding medium to pigment. 

On the second day, we will finish our paints, explore some guided solo and group practices on the land, and enjoy extended studio time creating at our foraging spot. An assortment of natural canvases will be provided, but making paintings and sculpture for on the land that are left in place is also encouraged. We will end the day with a closing ritual in a nearby stand of old growth.

This retreat is for you, if you:

• feel a fondness for the forest

• have strong feelings when you see clear cuts and plantations

• want to feel, process, and create with the support of a group of like minded people

• want to learn more about forest management and rights of nature movements

• enjoy spacious outdoor time, painting and creating

• want to learn how to make pigments and paints from the land

Logistics

The retreat is Saturday, April 19th from 10:00 - 5:00pm and Sunday April 20th from 10:00- 5:00pm. We will meet on Saturday at the Center for Rural Livelihoods (CRL) in Cottage Grove, Oregon and drive out to our foraging spot in the nearby foothills. We will return to CRL for use of their strawbale lodge for our paintmaking workspace. Lunches will be provided both days and all food preferences taken into consideration.

No overnight lodging is provided in the cost of the retreat, but you can book a “summer camp” style dorm room in the CRL lodge for $50/night. Please reach out for booking info.

The full cost for the retreat is $200.

If you would like to arrange a payment plan, please first register and make a 25% deposit to hold you space, then reach out to confirm the payment structure.

If you are Indigenous or Native American, Black, Latino/a/x/e, or someone of the global majority that has systemically been kept from cultivating a connection to nature or restricted from tending the land, there is a 50% waived fee for participation in this retreat.

Got a question about this retreat, contact us here!

Monday July 21st - 25th from 10 am - 3:30pm

Join us for a fun filled week of nature immersion, hand crafts, and group games at the forest and gardens of Center for Rural Livelihoods (CRL) in Cottage Grove, Oregon.

Each day will have a dedicated craft, including clay sculpture, rock pigment paint making and painting, wool felting, and plant fiber weaving. As well as time to explore the landscape, playing games, and taking time to notice the sounds and sights of the summer! A few days will end with a spacious swim at the spring fed pond.

This is a great camp for kids who enjoy getting invested in creative projects and feel enlivened by long summer days outside!

For kids ages 8-12 years old

Day camp hours are 10am - 3:30pm with drop off and pick up at CRL, as well as carpool to and from a central Eugene location each day at 9-9:15 and 4:15-4:30pm, which will be coordinated with interested Eugene families.

Registration and payment are a combined form below. Full tuition is $300 and is due by the beginning of camp. If you would like to make monthly payments, please choose the $50 monthly payment plan option in checkout. There may be some a small amount of scholarship funds available, please use the contact page to inquire.

In this two day basketry class we will weave simple round base baskets, taking our time to understand the funamentals, from base to rim. This class is entry level, you do not need to have experience to start!

This class is in conjunction with the Willow Relationship series offer by wetlands permaculture expert Kara Huntermoon at her Eugene Wetlands home in Eugene, Oregon. She offers a five part series over seven months on planting a living willow fence, streambank stabilization, animal integration and fertility, as well as basic weaving techniques. We will be weaving willow cultivated and cured from her land.

Taught by Hosanna White, Ryder Coen, and Kara Huntermoon at Center for Rural Livelihoods, Cottage Grove.

Sliding scale $300-150. Overnight lodging is available for an extra $20 per night.

For Registration email karahuntermoon@gmail.com

Pottery has always been an art and science of the earth. Foraging for local clays begins a conversation with our local landscape in which our understanding of the geological narratives and mineral personalities in our hands deepens with time and experimentation.

This two day intro explores the complex chemistry and creativity of working with wild clays of the Pacific Northwest and how to integrate them into your pottery practice.

Saturday August 9th and Sunday August 10th from 10-4pm

The first day will be an outdoor foraging location just outside Portland and will include:

• an exploration of the different clay personalities one finds when foraging,

• how to identify appropriate places for foraging,

• how to process clay for best handbuilding or wheel throwing results, and

• the basics of blending theory, additives, and more

On our second day, we will:

• handbuild or throw pot to get a hands-on feel for clay blending and how to create tests. These will then be bisque fired and availible to pick up the following week.

• discuss mid-range firing protocols and techniques, as well as

• overview the basics of natural glazes and slips.