Intermediate Program

Two-week tableware course with Leonardo Rousseau

This course is a two weeks immersion into wheel throwing for tableware design. During which you will have a chance to immerse yourself in the practice of ceramics and make a complete tableware set, while also enjoying the tranquil pleasures of Sicilian life.

In this course you will have a chance to perfect your throwing skills: you will practise throwing bowls, plates and cups, as well as tea pots and ceramic boxes. You will be guided to throw thinner and more even walls, as well as throwing shapes that are new and challenging. You will have a unique chance to fully immerse yourself in the practice of wheel throwing, making progress that would be hard to achieve within the noise of everyday life.

Each student will also have a chance to design their own tableware set, then make it. On week two, students will also be taught a few glaze recipes, and will have a chance to mix their own glazes and pick a colour for their set.

By the end of the retreat you will have the opportunity to choose which pieces you would like fired, glazed and shipped to you. As pieces need approximately a week to dry out, this will be done for you once the retreat has concluded. The costs of shipping are not included in the course price.

Your Teacher - Leonardo Rousseau

Leonardo Rousseau is a ceramicist working in Brussels and raised in Paris. He is the founder of Atelier Espiney in Brussels and he specialises in tableware and decorative items, using different types of stoneware. All his pieces are thrown on the wheel and each of them is unique due to this process. All his glazes result from his personal research, and add his pieces a refined and subtle finish.

For the past four years, Leonardo worked as a teacher in several studios in Brussels. During this time, he mentored hundreds of students always with the same dedication to guide the students to the next steps.

He was one of our first teachers at Salemi Ceramics in July 2024, teaching several courses including a first version of this 2 weeks tableware course.

IG @atelier_epiney

Week One

  • Day 1: Thinking and designing what to produce over the next 2 weeks (teapot, serving plates, collection of small plates, bowls, cups, incense holder, etc.) 
  • Day 2: Learn how to replicate the same pieces in a series
  • Day 3: Throwing plates 
  • Day 4: Learning how to throw off a hump (lid, spout, small pieces making and incense holder) 
  • Day 5: Trimming pieces from day two and three 
  • Weekend at your leisure

Week Two

  • Day 1: Handling and assembling cups 
  • Day 2: Learning how to throw closed form and rounded shape 
  • Day 3: Throwing teapots body, lid and spout 
  • Day 4: trimming pieces form day 2 and 3 + making handles
  • Day 5: Assembling teapot
EUR €2250
Intermediate Program
Two-week tableware course
15th June - 28th June 2025
Learn from our resident teacher
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What's Included

  • Ceramics classes and mentorship by established ceramicists
  • All materials
  • Palermo Airport pick-up (12 noon Sunday) or Palermo City Pick Up (11am Sunday). There is an additional charge for any pick-ups at other times
  • Return Palermo Airport transfer and Palermo City drop off on Saturday, departing Salemi at 7am
  • 2 x Yoga and 2 x meditation classes
  • All meals and non-alcoholic beverages from Sunday dinner through to Saturday breakfast
  • Glazing and firing a max of 6kg of pieces (this will be done after the retreat has finished)

What's Not Included

  • Accommodation
  • Shipping of pieces that will be fired by the studio
  • Additional cost for firing/glazing more than 6kg of pieces (it’s 20€/kg for each extra kg of clay)
  • Alcoholic beverages

The Project

The Salemi School of Ceramics is a social enterprise that has been opened to create a learning centre for contemporary ceramics, the first of its kind in Sicily.

The School has been created in partnership with the local town of Salemi, which has provided the gorgeous space - the Sant'Agostino Monastery - that will be used for the school.

Salemi has a gorgeous historical centre and because it is quiet and peaceful, it is the perfect place for a mindful ceramics retreat.

Meet the team

Our team is passionate about bringing Salemi to life and providing you with an authentic Sicilian experience