The idea behind this pottery/creative retreat is simple: It‘s a natural setting where you may discover inspiration and embrace your creative side while getting away from the daily grind.
The creative process of pottery–making slows down the pace of life, giving you time to recharge and replenish your creative spirit. There could be no other medium better than the clay for such a retreat wherein clay itself and the whole process of making pottery teaches you patience, empathy, accepting changes, exploring and experimenting.
It’s also an opportunity to befriend another art enthusiast like you to connect with a community, learn a new skill, stay at a gorgeous location and experience local/mountain culture.
The retreat is put together by a skilled group of artists and facilitators. Starting on Friday afternoon and lasting until Wednesday morning, all of the retreat schedules are similar. We have room for 8 to 12 participants in each batch, depending on the studio‘s space availability.
You can join this retreat to learn basic pottery, give yourself a breather or just to pamper your creative self.
Day 1
11:00 AM - Check in by this time to make the most of your first day
2:00 PM - Lunch
4:00 PM - Attend your first pottery session - “An Introduction to Pottery” (3 hrs)
8:00 PM - Dinner (possibly around a bonfire, depending on weather)
Day 2
6:00 AM - Nature walk to the hamlet of Naddi
9:00 AM - Breakfast
11:00 AM - One group will attend the “Hand-building- pinching” workshop, and the other will learn the “Intro to Pottery Wheel” workshop (2.5 hrs each)
2:00 PM - Lunch
4:00 PM - Attend the second workshop from the above two, depending on what you did in the morning.
8:00 PM - Dinner
Day 3
6:30 AM - Yoga & Meditation session
9:00 AM - Breakfast
11:00 AM - Attend the fourth workshop on “Texturing/Surface Decoration”.
2:00 PM - Lunch
3:00 PM - Guided Dharamshala Sightseeing Tour (Dalai Lama Temple, St. John’s in the Wilderness Church, and the McLeodganj Market)
6:00 PM - Return to the Studio with our guide in a cab or stay longer and take a taxi back.
8:00 PM- Dinner (You can also explore one of the many restaurants/ bars in McLeodganj)
Day 4
6:30 AM - Yoga & Meditation session
9:00 AM - Breakfast
11:00 AM - Attend the “Advanced Hand-building- Slab/coiling method” or “Wheel Throwing/ Shaping Technique” workshops (2.5 hrs)
2:00 PM - Lunch
4:00 PM - Attend the second workshop from the above two, depending on what you did in the morning.
8:00 PM - Dinner
Day 5
6:00 AM - Yoga & Meditation session
9:00 AM - Breakfast
11:00 AM - Attend your seventh workshop
2:00 PM - Lunch
3:00 PM - Day at Leisure (Finish off your artwork with guidance from our instructors, head out and take a hike, go shopping, or spend a lazy day in a cafe)
8:00 PM - Farewell Dinner
Started in 2019, Dharamkot Studio is a Pottery Studio and Community Art Space located in a small village called Dharamkot in the Himalayas of North India.
Located at an altitude of 6900ft, this studio is 2 km from the Mcleodganj hill station, Which is home to Dalai Lama, and known for Tibetan culture, monasteries and nature.
We curate and host Pottery Retreats, Beginner’s Courses & workshops, advanced Workshops and Residency programs for artists and art lovers.
To run these all these programs there are 2 centres in the village. At the first centre, there is a small gallery, studio space and a cafeteria where we host different non residential art workshops. And the centre 2 is a residential studio where we host Pottery Retreats, Courses and Advanced Workshops.
Whether you are a professional potter or a ceramic artist or just an art enthusiast, you must explore different programs offered by the studio.
The studio was started as a team of 3 and has now grown into an Art Community. At any point in time, we have about 20 artists/learners creating magic in our 2 studios in the village. Apart from the Art Retreat, we also conduct workshops, courses and artists’ residency programs. So you will be a part of this community of artists fiddling with pottery wheels or bringing their imagination to life in this idyllic sanctuary.
In the evenings, you can expect to snuggle around the bonfire/dinner and hear your fellow participants discuss their ideas of starting a new music studio or planning to colour our hair the shade of sunset.
The creative process of pottery–making slows down the pace of life, giving you time to recharge and replenish your creative spirit. There could be no other medium better than the clay for such a retreat wherein clay itself and the whole process of making pottery teaches you patience, empathy, accepting changes, exploring and experimenting.
This Art Retreat is also an opportunity to befriend another art enthusiast like you to connect with a community, learn a new skill, stay at a gorgeous location and experience local/mountain culture.
We’re an art studio using clay / ceramics / pottery as a medium, nestled in a quaint village in Himachal Pradesh, India. We started in 2019 in Dharamkot village with one pottery wheel, a few kgs of clay and a simple dream of making a community art space. We’re self taught artists from different backgrounds and with different stories; the Studio and art connect all of us together.
On an elevation of 2100 m, Dharamkot is a small hill station in Kangra district in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. On the crest of a hill above McLeodGanj, (Dalai lama stays here and also place of Tibetan government in exile ), Dharamkot is a spot with wide views of the Kangra Valley and the Dhauladhar ranges. Dharamkot also has the world famous Vipassana meditation centre, Dhamma Shikara and Tushita Meditation Centre which is a centre for the study and practice of Buddhism in the Tibetan Mahayana tradition. Famous for yoga, meditation and Hippies Since 1970s, Dharamkot is also known as second home for Israeli tourists coming to India. Most of the restaurants here serve Israeli dishes.
The accommodation and studio lie amidst the pine and cedar forest, completely secluded from the hustle-bustle of the town yet easily approachable by road and just a 5-minute walk away from the village. We have single and double-occupancy rooms. We don’t put up strangers together- so you will either have the whole room or share it with someone you bring along.
All the rooms are with attached washrooms, high–speed WiFi, power backup, hot water, electric kettle, heaters/Fan private balcony and modernist aesthetics. You will have a view of the Dhauladhar mountain range from your room!
The accommodation and studio lie amidst the pine and cedar forest, completely secluded from the hustle-bustle of the town yet easily approachable by road and just a 5-minute walk away from the village. We have single and double-occupancy rooms. We don’t put up strangers together- so you will either have the whole room or share it with someone you bring along.
All the rooms are with attached washrooms, high–speed WiFi, power backup, hot water, electric kettle, heaters/Fan private balcony and modernist aesthetics. You will have a view of the Dhauladhar mountain range from your room!
An in–house cafeteria provides delicious and healthy vegetarian food. Vegan or gluten-free food is also available on request.
All meals (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner) are included in the price.
Apart from our in–house cafe there are many other cafes to explore, just a 7-10 minutes walk away from the retreat centre.
By Air – Kangra Airport (DHM) is the nearest airport which is around 20 km (50 minutes) from the studio, direct taxi (Rs. 1200/-) to the studio will be available.
By Bus – Overnight journey from Delhi by semi-sleeper bus. The nearest bus station is Dharamshala (8 km), and from the bus station, you can take a taxi (Rs. 600/-) to the studio.
By Train – Pathankot (85km) is the nearest railway station. From Pathankot, you can take public transport to Dharamshala and then a taxi to the Studio. Or you can take a taxi from Pathankot to the studio.
