Primitive Pots: Fire & Wild Clay. Five sessions with Mike Panella.

Name: Primitive Pots: Fire & Wild Clay. Five sessions with Mike Panella.
Start: 2025-09-06T10:00:00-04:00
Location: Mudtown Ceramics

Schedule

Sat, 06 Sep, 2025 at 10:00 am

UTC-04:00

Location

Mudtown Ceramics | Frenchtown, NJ

Dates & Time:
Saturday, Sept 6th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Wednesday, Sept 10, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Wednesday, Sept 17, from 1:00 pm to 4 pm
Wednesday, Sept 24 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Saturday, Oct 4, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Class Description:
Step into the ancient world of pottery with Mike Panella in this hands-on, earth-rooted class that takes you from the ground to the flame. Join ceramicist Mike Panella for five immersive sessions exploring the raw beauty of wild clay and primitive firing.
You’ll learn how to locate, identify, harvest, and process natural clay straight from the land. Discover the meditative process of purifying clay using simple, time-honored techniques. Then, shape your findings into meaningful hand-built forms using pinch, coil, and slab methods.
In the final sessions, we’ll fire our work in an open campfire using friction-based fire-starting—a method as old as pottery itself. We’ll also explore how these ancient materials and processes can be adapted for use in a contemporary ceramics studio.
This is a rare opportunity to reconnect with the origins of ceramics in a supportive, small-group setting.
Class limited to 10 participants.
No prior experience necessary—just curiosity and a willingness to get your hands (and feet) dirty.