Come and Make Something
Ceramics, ecoprinting, natural dyeing, and jewellery — retreats, AND intensives in Tuscany, Italy
Il Baciarino is a small agriturismo nestled in the hills of Tuscany — my home, my studio, and the place where I have been teaching and making for the past several years. Surrounded by olive trees and the quiet rhythm of the countryside, it is a place created for focused work, exploration and connection.
The experiences I offer here range from concentrated days at the wheel to six-week artist residencies. Across the programmes, we explore ceramics, ecoprinting, natural dyeing, indigo, jewellery, silversmithing, glass, enamelling, bookbinding, pen and ink, cooking and Italian culture.
Some programmes are led by me, while others welcome guest artists whose knowledge and practices bring new perspectives into the studio.
Every experience is intentionally small. Every one takes place at Il Baciarino. The setting, the food and the quality of attention remain at the heart of everything we do.
A note on availability
All 2026 retreats and intensives are currently full. If you would like to be among the first to hear about future openings — and receive early access before bookings open publicly — join the mailing list.
2027 — The Season at a Glance
Explore the upcoming creative experiences, retreats and residencies in Tuscany.
A Closer Look at Each Experience
Retreats
The retreats are ten days. Long enough that the pace changes. Long enough that something real has a chance to happen — not just technically, but in the way you think about your own making.
The structure is consistent across programmes: mornings in the studio, afternoons given to the life around it. The sea is twenty minutes away. There are olive groves, a hot tub and a pool, cooking sessions, and the kind of meals that make you understand why Italians eat the way they do. This is not incidental to the creative work. It is part of what makes the creative work possible.
Spark — January, with my daughter Rhiannon Rice
Rhiannon is a jeweller of rare instinct. In January she is bringing her full practice to Il Baciarino for ten days — silversmithing, glass, ceramics, enamelling, and cast wax. The aim is not to survey five techniques but to use them together in service of one thing: making a talisman, a jewel, something wearable and entirely yours. It is the retreat for the woman who has always wanted to make what she wears.
Going Big with Emma Smith — April
Emma Smith built the wood kiln that stands on this land. She is returning in April to push scale — coil building, composite forms, large throwing, working in segments. The retreat culminates in a firing of the kiln Emma built. There is something particular about firing work in a kiln made by the person who taught you to make it.
The Intentional Cup with Emma Smith — April
Ten days devoted entirely to the cup — that most daily and most demanding of forms. Emma's focus is design: rims that meet the mouth well, feet that lift the cup from the table with intention, handles that fit a hand rather than simply attach to a body. The retreat closes with a wood kiln firing.
The Queen's Studio Retreat — May and September
A retreat built on the premise that creativity is a practice, not a talent — and that making something every day, across different media, is one of the most honest ways to find out what you actually want to say. We move through ceramics, ecoprinting, pen and ink, and bookbinding — not as a sampler but as a sustained enquiry. Based on the seven practices of The Queen's Studio. For women who want a creative life, not just a creative week.
Art of Fire — June
Ten days centred on Cantico, our wood kiln, and the particular alchemy of what fire does to clay. We throw and hand-build, glaze and load, stoke and wait. Then we open the kiln together. For ceramicists who want to understand fire as a collaborator rather than a finishing process.
Art Cloth, Naturally — June and November
Ten days of ecoprinting and natural dyeing — bundling leaves into silk and linen and wool, working with dye plants from the land, watching colour arrive from things that were growing an hour ago. The science is rigorous and the results are unexpected. We work with mordants, modifiers, resists, and natural dye baths including indigo, madder, weld, logwood, and whatever the season offers. For anyone curious about what plants can do to cloth.
The Perfect Plate of Pasta — October
Twelve participants, two studios, one long table. Half the group is in the ceramics studio while the other half is in the kitchen — then they switch. At the end of the retreat, everyone eats from the plates they made the food they cooked. It is the most joyful retreat we run.
Intensives
A pottery intensive is the fastest way to go somewhere specific in your practice.
Three to five days, one on one, entirely built around what you most need to work on. Before you arrive we talk — about where you are, what has been frustrating you, what you have been wanting to try. When you get here, the week is yours.
Each day moves through demonstration, focused exercises, and personal critique. The clay is unlimited. The studio is available for up to fourteen hours a day. There is no group to keep pace with and no fixed lesson plan to move through. Just the work, and the time to do it properly.
Intensives are available year-round and can be designed around ceramics at any level — beginners welcome. Custom intensives in ecoprinting and natural dyeing are also available on request.
Cost: €1500 for a standard intensive · €195 per day for a custom build, minimum three days