Ceramics Workshop: Advanced
3-day intensive wheel-throwing workshop with Leonardo Baruk: Advanced
This advanced intensive program is designed for students with prior experience in wheel throwing who wish to deepen their technique, refine their movements, and build confidence when working on larger and more complex forms.
Through a combination of theory, demonstration, and guided practice, participants will develop greater control, precision, and consistency while exploring more demanding shapes and advanced processes.
We believe it is essential for students to develop an intimate relationship with clay: to understand its limits and to recognize that every movement must carry clear intention, purpose, and method.
General Information
Schedule: 21–23.04, 10:00–17:00
Language: English
Age: 15+
Capacity: 12 participants
Detailed Programme
The program begins with participant introductions, followed by an overview of two wedging techniques. Students are then introduced to centering methods, using clay amounts suited to their individual skill levels, helping to develop control with greater ease.
The focus will be on essential foundational forms such as cylinders, bowls, and plates, while exploring different pulling techniques to raise walls with increased precision.
All exercises are adapted to each student’s abilities.
On the second day, exercises become progressively more challenging, בהתאם to each student’s development. Work continues on forms such as bowls, cylinders, and simple jars, with a strong emphasis on improving consistency, control, and understanding of form.
Demonstrations are presented using a variety of approaches, allowing students to experiment and identify the techniques that best suit their practice. The program encourages the understanding that there is no single “perfect” technique, but rather methods that each individual can adapt effectively.
A key aspect of the teaching approach is the individual assessment of each student, enabling more personalised and effective guidance.
On the third day, students are introduced to finishing techniques, including basic trimming. At this stage, emphasis is placed on understanding the ceramic process as a whole and how each step contributes to the final outcome.
Particular attention is given to the three fundamental stages of ceramics—forming, finishing, and glazing—as essential areas for development. Building confidence and consistency across these stages enables the creation of more refined and resolved final pieces.
A final demonstration concludes the program, encouraging participants to continue developing their practice beyond the workshop.
Firing is not available on site. If you would like to keep your pieces, we recommend arranging firing at another studio. You are welcome to take your work with you, but it will need to be collected and fired at a different location in Lisbon.
Firing fees are charged separately, and the full process (bisque and glaze firing) typically takes around one month to complete. While many participants use the course primarily for learning and experimentation, the choice is entirely yours.
About Leonardo Baruk
Leonardo Baruk’s interest in art began in childhood and gradually developed into a dedicated practice. His connection to ceramics emerged later, during a sabbatical period, when a visit to a ceramics studio in Geneva sparked a deep fascination with form, texture, and colour.
Upon returning home, he pursued training with ceramic artists Hideko Honma and Regina Esher. At the time, his professional background was in information technology, which remains his academic foundation.
After two years of practising ceramics alongside his professional career, he established his own studio, marking a decisive shift in his trajectory. Engagement with clay – and with the elemental forces of earth, water, fire, and air – became central to his artistic and pedagogical practice.
Through both making and teaching, he developed a parallel vocation as an educator. In January 2022, he opened a new studio in Sorocaba, São Paulo, where he continues to develop his work and share his knowledge with students.
His practice is grounded in the belief that working with ceramics fosters a deeper awareness of material, process, and self. Through the creation of unique pieces and the transmission of knowledge, his work explores the transformative potential of artistic practice.
About Ceramic Studio
Carole Luel is the founder of Ceramic Studio, a platform dedicated to practice, education, and exchange in the field of contemporary ceramics. Originally established in Belgium, Ceramic Studio is now based in Lisbon. Over recent years, it has become a recognised space for experimentation, learning, and encounter around ceramics.
Conceived as an open and inclusive space, Ceramic Studio fosters a collaborative working environment focused on knowledge transmission, technical development, and the appreciation of making by hand. Its activity is grounded in creating contexts of exchange between practitioners with diverse backgrounds and levels of experience.
Throughout its trajectory, Ceramic Studio has hosted internationally recognised ceramicists, organising workshops and residencies that function as platforms for technical and artistic exchange.
In Portugal, Carole Luel is currently developing a programme centred on building an active ceramics community, with a focus on the exploration of specialised techniques and collaboration with Portuguese and international ceramicists.
