Encounter

Soil

With

Recorded on 13 September, 2022 at the Jan van Eyck Academie

This workshop with Maria Roy Deulofeu explored how to make hyper-local ceramics without purchasing materials, but instead through learning from and employ our environments.

While on a walk, we investigated both soil and other elements in Jan van Eyck Academie’s immediate surroundings and collected data on their qualities and history, to grasp how we may work with it. Afterwards, we learnt about the different methods that can be applied to refine the collected soil into clay that could be used to make ceramic pieces. In the process, Maria showed how to combine clay with other materials found in the soil, such as stones, glass, and various metals. Eventually, we built an ephemeral kiln from recycled newspapers to fire our pieces and close the cycle of this experience.