Matcha and Clay: A Festive Ritual

Thursday 20 November, 6:30–9pm + Thursday 11 December, 6:30–7:30pm
£60 per person | Just 8 places | Fenstanton

Step away from the festive madness for an evening. Sip matcha, get your hands in clay and make your own beautiful matcha set to enjoy over Christmas and beyond.

If the run-up to Christmas usually feels more rush, rush, rush than calm and cosy, this one’s for you.

Matcha & Clay is a special festive matcha and pottery workshop at Paula Armstrong Ceramics in Fenstanton, created in collaboration with Matchaeco.

For one evening, we’re bringing together two experts – one in matcha and one in clay – to give you the chance to slow down, learn something new and enjoy making with your hands.

You’ll learn how to prepare and whisk matcha, enjoy matcha while you make, and hand-build your own ceramic matcha bowl and whisk stand. Then you’ll come back three weeks later to glaze your creations.

And when your finished ceramics are collected before Christmas, you’ll have everything you need to make your own matcha at home.

Start with matcha…

We’ll begin with Matchaeco, who’ll introduce you to matcha and show you how to prepare and whisk it properly.

You’ll get to taste and enjoy matcha – including a rather lovely festive cinnamon matcha – and discover how to recreate the ritual for yourself at home.

Matcha in hand, we’ll move over to the clay.

Then make your own matcha bowl

Paula will guide you step-by-step through hand-building your own matcha bowl and matching whisk stand.

We’ll think about how your bowl feels to hold, how it needs to work for whisking and how your two pieces sit together, while leaving plenty of room for you to play with shape, texture and surface.

You don’t need to have touched clay before. You’ll have all the guidance you need, without being told that everyone’s bowl needs to look the same.

Because where would the fun be in that?

This is your chance to switch off for a couple of hours, get your hands muddy and enjoy making something that’s completely yours.

Return to glaze your pieces

Your creations will stay at the studio to dry and have their first kiln firing.

You’ll return on Thursday 11 December, 6:30–7:30pm for a relaxed glazing session, choosing the colours and finishes that will bring your matcha set to life.

I’ll then fire everything again, ready for you to collect before Christmas.

And then it’s yours to enjoy

Matchaeco will provide your matcha whisk, matcha and everything else you need to get started at home, while you’ll have made the ceramic pieces yourself.

So this isn’t simply a pottery workshop or a matcha tasting.

You’ll leave knowing how to make matcha, with everything you need to do it and, by Christmas, your very own handmade ceramic matcha set to use again and again.

Your £60 Matcha and Clay workshop includes:

• Expert matcha tuition and demonstration from Matchaeco
• Matcha to drink while you make, including festive cinnamon matcha to try
• Expert ceramic tuition from Paula Armstrong
• 2½-hour Matcha & Clay making session
• Your own handmade ceramic matcha bowl and whisk stand
• One-hour return glazing session
• All clay, glazes and materials
• Both kiln firings
• Matcha whisk, matcha and the essentials you need to make matcha at home
• Your finished ceramics ready to collect before Christmas

Only eight places are available, keeping the workshop small, friendly and relaxed, with plenty of individual help from both of us.

Come on your own, bring a friend, or give someone an early Christmas treat and make an evening of it.

Come for the matcha. Stay for the clay. Take home a little ritual of your own.

No previous pottery, ceramics or matcha experience needed – just come ready to have a go 😄

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