Service Description

Join Malawian artist, researcher and designer-maker Mtamandeni Mtambalika for a two-week exploration of traditional African pottery, drawing on his experience of indigenous pottery practices from Malawi. Through demonstrations and hands-on making, you’ll explore traditional approaches to forming, surface decoration and mark-making, while considering the relationship between pottery, everyday life and food culture. Across the two sessions, Mtamandeni will introduce you to the forms, techniques and visual language that inform his own practice and research. You’ll have the opportunity to experiment with these approaches, developing your own clay forms while gaining a greater understanding of the cultural knowledge and traditions behind them. Week 1 – Making & Mark Making 7 November 2026, 14:00 - 18:00 Learn traditional hand-building techniques to create your own pottery forms. Mtamandeni will introduce you to forms, surface patterns and mark-making drawn from indigenous Malawian pottery traditions, giving you the opportunity to experiment and develop your own clay pieces. Week 2 – Traditional Pit Firing 14 November 2026 (14:00 - 16:00) Experience the process of firing your work using a traditional pit-firing method. You’ll prepare and arrange the pottery before it is fired using organic combustible materials, exploring the unpredictable marks, colours and surfaces created through this process. By booking onto this class, you are booking onto both dates. Terms and Conditions This class is suitable for adults who have had some experience of working with clay. This class includes the firing of 1-2 pieces of work per participant. Work will be available to collect from the studio the following weekend, and all participants will be notified by email. Our studio is located in Unit 2C within the Deemouth Artist Studios courtyard. There is limited parking available at the studio on a first-come-first-serve basis. Please do not park in spaces with signs dedicated to specific businesses in the courtyard. If you have any queries regarding access, please email us; aberdeenceramicsstudio@gmail.com Disclaimer; we can take no responsibility for damage to pieces during firing. Pottery can be unpredictable and sometimes pieces can crack or explode during firing. Photograph copyright of Mtamandeni Mtambalika