One-week Slab Building with Nikolas Iturralde

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.

Outcome

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:

• create grid systems, work within them, and later break out of them
• use basic slab building tools and proper techniques for cutting and joining clay
• turn your visual ideas and patterns into simple three-dimensional ceramic objects
• create slabs in any thickness or size using the slab roller or other tools
• shape, cut, and join slabs to build stable forms
• add textures and surface details to your pieces

Your Teacher

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.

Arrival and Departure

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 11:30 or Palermo Airport at 12:30. On Sunday afternoon (circa 16:30, 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 07:00 on Saturday morning.

**For pick-ups and drop-offs outside of these times and locations, please contact us for a transfer quote.