Wabi-sabi Ceramics Workshop in Milan

In this ceramics workshop in Milan, you’ll hand-sculpt a stoneware object and decorate it with colored clays. You’ll work for about three hours with a ceramist who will guide you through traditional Japanese techniques.

You’ll begin with a cup of Japanese tea in the studio, surrounded by tatami mats, washi paper lamps, and Meiji-period furnishings. Here, you’ll experience the wabi-sabi aesthetic and discover how an irregular shape or a fingerprint can become part of your piece.

At the workbench, you’ll try two methods of shaping the clay. Using the “pizzicato” technique, you’ll open up and thin out a small lump of stoneware clay between your fingers. Using the “colombino” technique, you’ll layer clay coils to build the walls and add height to your piece. You can create a bowl, a vase, a candleholder, or a sculptural form.

Once the shape is defined, you’ll decorate the surface with natural colored clays. You’ll leave the piece in the studio to be fired in the kiln.