Join us for an immersive , hands-on exploration of raku workshop on memory and transformation with Nina Salem Shabb
Participants are invited to recreate a shoe of personal significance in clay – not as a functional object, but as a vessel of memory. Through fire, smoke, and chance, each piece undergoes raku firing, transforming the shoe into a one-of-a-kind artifact that bears the marks of what was lived and loved.
key learning objectives
This workshop offers an immersive, hands-on introduction to raku as both a ceramic process and a reflective practice. Participants will be guided through the creation of a clay shoe inspired by a personal memory—approaching form, texture, and surface as carriers of meaning rather than function.
Across three evening handbuilding sessions, participants will shape, refine, and prepare their pieces, experimenting with construction techniques suited to raku firing. The final session culminates in an outdoor raku firing, where fire, smoke, and unpredictability complete the transformation of each piece.
The workshop emphasizes process over perfection, embracing chance, impermanence, and the marks left by fire as integral to the work.
what to expect
Understand the conceptual foundations of raku, including its relationship to impermanence, transformation, and chance
Learn handbuilding techniques appropriate for sculptural ceramic forms
Learn handbuilding techniques appropriate for sculptural ceramic forms
Explore how personal memory and narrative can be translated into clay
Gain practical experience in surface treatment and raku glazing
Participate in and understand the raku firing process, including post–firing reduction
Learn essential safety practices related to raku firing
Develop confidence in working with unpredictable outcomes and embracing material transformation