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In this course, ceramic artist Nikolas Iturralde invites you into the world of slab building, a technique where flat clay slabs become the foundation for creating design objects or sculptural pieces.
Throughout the week, you will explore a process that combines graphic design principles, pattern composition, and modular thinking with hands-on ceramic work. Using grids and paper-based design exercises, you will learn to translate two-dimensional ideas into tactile, three-dimensional forms. Through daily demonstrations and guided practice, you’ll gain a solid understanding of slab construction, surface design, and visual composition. Each participant will develop their own project, such as a vase, tile, or sculptural object, learning how to cut, join, and refine slabs into a stable and expressive form.
This course offers an intensive introduction to slab building as both a technical skill and a design language, ideal for anyone interested in connecting visual thinking with material exploration.
By the end of the week, you will have created your own finished ceramic object, for example, a small modular wall piece, mirror frame, vase, box, serving tray, or candleholder, using the slab-building technique. You’ll take your piece through all stages of the process, from concept to construction, until it is ready to be fired. After the workshop, your work will be glazed in one of three colour options of your choice and fired by the studio team, so you can later receive a fully finished piece.
During the course, you will learn to:
Although the course is focused on learning rather than making pieces, you will be able to keep some pieces:
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Nikolas Iturralde is a ceramic artist who studied graphic design in Berlin and Valencia. His work is influenced by the iconography and cultural syncretism of Latin America, as well as its vibrant pop and subcultures. He draws on these diverse references to create eclectic pieces that explore the intersection of ornament, typography, and form through techniques such as screen printing, calligraphy, and sculpture. Nikolas creates works that shift between two- and three-dimensional forms, including sculptures, vases, functional objects, and wall pieces such as tiles and reliefs. His current focus is on ornamentation and patterns, particularly expressed through recurring motifs like fire, flames, and spikes. He has exhibited his work in various galleries and regularly collaborates with artists and designers from other fields, expanding his perspective and working methods.
This course is ideal for people interested in the intersection of design and ceramics. Although it is open to everyone with ceramics experience, we strongly encourage designers, architects, creative professionals and anyone with a passion for graphic design and geometrical shapes!
The course is right for you if:
We ask that you plan your arrival for Sunday. We have an included pick-up from either Palermo Centre (in front of Hotel Politeama) at 1100 or Palermo Airport at 1200. On Sunday afternoon (circa 1630, subject to change), you will be welcomed to Salemi by one of our team members, who will take you on an orientation walk of the historical centre. This will be followed by a welcome apericena (light dinner) with a Salemi Spritz at one of our favourite local restaurants.
We will bid you farewell at the end of your time in Salemi with an included transfer to either Palermo Airport or Palermo Centre (Piazza Politeama), departing Salemi at 0700 on Saturday morning.
**For pick-ups and drop-offs outside of these times and locations, please contact us for a transfer quote.
This is an intensive learning week! Teaching is primarily group-based with moments of individual feedback built in. Please note this is not one-on-one tuition.
You will be in the studio from Monday at 0900 through to approximately 1700 on Friday afternoon. Studio time is a combination of teaching and non-teaching time. You can expect a typical day to look like this:
0800 - Yoga in the courtyard (optional)
0900 - 1300 - Studio (teaching with a coffee/tea break at 1030 in the courtyard)
1300 - Shared lunch in the courtyard
1400 - 1630 - Free Studio Time - Afternoon studio hours are primarily self-directed practice, with your teacher available in the studio for guidance
1900 - Dinners are a combination of eating at local restaurants, home restaurants, and in-house at the studio
Please note
Our program is carefully designed to balance teaching, practice, meals, and cultural experiences, and we do our best to follow the planned schedule. However, all times and activities are indicative and may shift with the season, the weather, or the needs of the group. Studio sessions, meals, and excursions may be adjusted, rescheduled, or substituted at our discretion. Flexibility is part of the Salemi Ceramics experience, and we believe these small changes often add to the richness of your time with us.
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We want to make Salemi a recognised centre for contemporary ceramic art. Come and be part of it!
