WORKSHOP RETREAT: Hand-Turned Ceramic Pottery with Paul Briggs — The Hambidge Center
Participants will learn hand-turned ceramic pottery techniques over a 5-day workshop retreat, building large pinch-formed vessels from a single ball of clay without machinery.
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Get matched →- Deadline
- deadline unknown, verify at source
- Entry fee
- Not listed - check the source
- Location
- Hambidge Center, 105 Hambidge Court, Rabun Gap, GA 30568
- Exhibition window
- Aug 9, 2026 → Aug 14, 2026
About
Overview
Join ceramic artist Paul Briggs for an extended, hands-on workshop exploring how to build tall, wheel-like vessels using only your hands. Working from a single ball of clay, students will learn to "turn" a form through intentional pinching—lifting and shaping the walls without machinery or added material. Emphasis will be placed on patience, rhythm, and touch.
Workshop Details
- Dates: August 9-14, 2026
- Check-in: 1-5 PM on first day; mandatory group orientation at 5 PM
- Departures: by 2 PM on final day
- Location: Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, GA
What You'll Learn
Participants will examine how clay moves when compressed, supported, and gradually coaxed upward. Instruction will focus on hand positioning, compression techniques, and strategies for sustaining height and volume in larger pinch-formed vessels. By session end, participants will have completed a substantial, refined vessel shaped entirely by hand.
Requirements
- Experience level: Intermediate
Fees & Accommodations
- Workshop: $1,075 (covers workshop fees, materials, model fee, and meal plan)
- Overnight accommodations: $450-$600 in Antinori Village
- Clay, tools, and materials provided
About Paul Briggs
Paul Briggs is a ceramic artist and educator raised in New York's Hudson Valley. He earned an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and a PhD from Pennsylvania State University. He currently teaches ceramic art at Alfred University, where his work centers on thoughtful engagement with material, process, and the philosophical questions embedded within creative practice.
Status
This workshop retreat is sold out. To join the waitlist, visit the registration page.
Contact
For questions or to arrange check-in accommodations, contact [email protected].
- Entry fee
- $1,075 (covers workshop fees, materials, model fee, and meal plan) + $450-$600 for overnight accommodations
- Theme
- Hand-turned ceramic pottery focusing on building tall, wheel-like vessels using hand-pinching techniques without machinery.
- Eligibility
- Intermediate experience in pinch-forming or other clay processes required.
- Audience
- Artists with intermediate clay experience
- Also worth noting
- Waitlist maintained
- Waitlist
- The organizer keeps one.
- Contact
- [email protected]
Every listing links to the organizer's official page. Always confirm deadlines, fees, and entry rules there before you apply.