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Aura Pottery

Aura Pottery - Chandigarh, India

Pottery Retreat in India

The Creative Pottery Retreat in India You’ve Been Looking For

Pottery Retreats at Aura Pottery

A residential pottery retreat on a private farm near Chandigarh, Punjab — for beginners and intermediates who want real instruction, unhurried days, and space to slow down.

At a glance

  • Duration: 1–8 weeks, your choice
  • Group size: Max 8 guests
  • Level: Beginner to intermediate
  • Start dates: Every Monday, fixed seasonal dates
  • Includes: Hand-building, wheel throwing, accommodation, farm-to-table meals

What to Expect

  • A curriculum shaped around your goals and current skill
  • Days on a working farm — mornings in the studio, open time to think, feel, and detach
  • Small group of 8, so instruction stays personal

Pick any Monday. Stay as long as you like, up to 8 weeks.

Every retreat begins on a Monday, all year round, and runs for however many of the durations below you choose.

Looking for a longer option? Take a look at our 3 Month Pottery Course.

Meet your Host & Mentor - Andy

Hi, I’m Andy, a self-taught ceramic artist with ten years of experience, and your head instructor and mentor during your time here. I love storytelling, whether through my work or while sharing moments in the studio. Anya, my creative partner, brings every experience to life—strategically coordinating  operations, our online presence and your experience at Aura.

We’ve built this home with love and joy, and it’s our greatest pleasure to share it with like-minded creatives. This is more than a pottery retreat – it’s a piece of our life, designed with care and intention. Come join us and experience the art, nature, and beauty we call home.

Andy XO

Lets Plan Your Pottery Retreat

    What you'll learn

    The longer you stay, the further you go.

    Every retreat is built on the same foundations. Select a duration to see what’s realistically covered in that time — no more scrolling through five repeated sections.

    This retreat introduces the fundamentals of building in clay with a potter’s original tool — their hands. The week is split evenly between hand-building and wheel-throwing. No prior experience needed; this is the right entry point for a first-timer.

    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round
    Hand-Building
    Pinching, coiling, slab work Surface decoration
    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round

    This retreat covers the core techniques, then moves into troubleshooting and refinement — sharpening your hand-building and wheel skills enough to start forming functional or sculptural pieces with intention.

    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round
    Hand-building
    Pinching, coiling, slab work Surface decor, carving, sgraffito Mugs, tumblers, handles, bowls
    Wheel
    Centering, coning, pulling Cylinders, bowls
    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round

    By week three, the focus shifts from learning technique to repeating it until it holds. You’ll refine proportion, trim your first thrown pieces, and build the muscle memory that makes both hand-building and wheel work start to feel natural.

    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round
    Hand-Building
    Pinching, coiling, slab work Surface decor, carving, sgraffito Mugs, tumblers, handles, bowls Refining form & proportion
    Wheel
    Centering, coning, pulling Cylinders, bowls Trimming
    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round

    Four weeks is the length we’d recommend for a proper grounding in pottery. You’re introduced to more advanced hand-building and wheel techniques, and start designing your own concepts — functional or conceptual — with guidance on how to execute them.

    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round
    Hand-building
    Previous skills + exploring complex surface treatment
    Wheel
    Previous skills + Trimming, large & tall pots Consistent throwing, altering shapes Narrow & wide shapes Plates
    Glazing
    Introduction to glazes and glaze application
    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round

    Week five is where scale and detail start to matter. You’ll throw larger forms, build more complex multi-part pieces by hand, and begin testing glaze combinations on earlier work — the start of a body of work that’s distinctly yours.

    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round
    Hand-Building
    Previous skills + Beginning multi-part forms
    Wheel
    Previous skills + Larger-scale throwing
    Glazing
    Introduction to glazes and glaze application, testing combinations
    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round

    This retreat gives you room to explore ceramics on your own terms — discovering your individual language in clay. You’ll design your own ideas and build them with guidance from our instructors.

    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round
    Hand-building
    Previous skills + Complex pieces Bottles, vases, lids & jars
    Wheel
    Previous skills + Complex pieces
    Glazing
    Previous skills + Loading & unloading a gas kiln
    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round

    By week seven, the fundamentals are settled and the focus turns to your own projects. You’ll spend more studio time developing personal work, get introduced to hump throwing, and sharpen the surface and firing techniques from earlier weeks.

    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round
    Hand-Building
    Previous skills + Developing personal projects
    Wheel
    Previous skills + Introduction to hump throwing
    Glazing
    Previous skills + Loading & unloading a gas kiln Basics of firing a gas kiln Different glazing techniques
    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round

    This retreat covers the full range of ceramic fundamentals through to advanced technique — executing conceptual designs and building complex forms, sculptural or functional, using a mixed-construction approach.

    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round
    Hand-building
    Previous skills + Large-scale projects
    Wheel
    Previous skills + Hump & sectional throwing Advanced: lidded pots & pitchers
    Glazing
    Previous skills + Loading & unloading a gas kiln Basics of firing a gas kiln Different glazing techniques
    Best suited to Beginners & intermediates
    Group size No more than 8 guests
    Starts Any Monday, year round

    What is included

    Learning & Mentorship
    • Full-time instruction with Andy
    • A 1:1 session with Andy on where clay could take you next
    Stay & Wellness
    • Residential accommodation on the farm
    • Farm-fresh meals, daily
    • Weekly yoga & meditation sessions
    Studio & Materials
    • All clay, tools, materials & firings
    • 24/7 studio access, beyond class hours
    Travel, Visa & Exploring
    • Round-trip transfers (Chandigarh to Aura)
    • Letter of invitation for visa purposes
    • Curated, research-backed city recommendations
    Daily rhythm

    A day at Aura

    Three months sounds like a long time — until you see how the days are actually shaped. Structured enough to keep you moving forward, spacious enough that it never turns into burnout.


    9:30 AM

    A slow breakfast

    Start unhurried, with farm-fresh food and no reason to rush.

    11:00 AM

    Studio time

    Structured time to build, explore, and experiment, with Andy close by.

    2:00 PM

    Lunch, then rest

    A real break — eat, read, nap, swim or just sit outside for a while.

    2:30 PM

    Open studio

    The wheel and the tables are yours — work, pause, or step away entirely.

    4:30–6:30 PM

    Reviews with Andy

    One-on-one feedback on what you made that day — this is where the real progress happens.

    7:45 PM

    Dinner and wind-down

    The day closes the way it opened — together, at the table. Return to the studio if you like. Remember, its open 24/7.

    This rhythm repeats, module after module, for twelve weeks.

    Arriving

    Arrive on a Monday — it lets you settle in smoothly and step straight into this flow.

    Weekends

    Instruction-free. The studio stays open, so you can work independently at your own pace.

    Accommodation

    Aura is a private pottery farm and the accommodation is within the same premises. We have different options for stay & accommodation – the Potters Villa and the Main Private Residence. The potters villa is shared with the instructors, and other students. The Main residence is a shared space with the hosts/family of founders/owners.

    Shared Room

    Perfect for bringing a friend or sharing with a fellow potter, making connections and memories. All rooms are air-conditioned, cozy, and equipped with attached bathrooms and private porches.

    Private Room

    Ideal for those seeking a peaceful and private retreat. All rooms are air-conditioned, cozy, and equipped with attached bathrooms and private porches.

    Luxury Room

    A private double occupancy bedroom with two large picture windows and a beautiful pool OR garden view. Calming and nostalgic, the perfect room to relax after working in the studio. The Luxury Rooms are in the Main Residence

    Plan your stay

    Select a room, choose your duration, see the price.

    Pricing gets proportionally better the longer you stay. Drag the slider to any duration between 1 and 8 weeks — figures between our published durations are interpolated and will be confirmed on enquiry.

    Select Room

    Shared Room

    Cozy, air-conditioned, shared with a fellow potter

    Single Room

    Private, air-conditioned, own porch

    Luxury Single

    Main Residence, pool or garden view

    Select duration

    1 week

    Starts any Monday
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
    Estimated total

    USD 000

    GBP 000 - INR 000

    Firing charge (INR 100 / 100g) and shipping are billed separately. Final quote confirmed by our team once your dates and room are locked in.

    The Studio

    The studio is a roughly 1000 sq. ft. space, dedicated to the art of ceramics. The inside of the studio is segmented into throwing areas, hand-building spaces, and drying, finishing, and storage areas. It is a modern, well-equipped space with access to all necessary tools. The glazing activity is carried out in the open. All sides of the studio building open onto various courtyards that have other facilities. Find more here.

    Nourishing meals

    Simple, home-cooked food made with farm-grown and locally sourced produce. We believe good meals nourish the work as much as the body.

    Breakfast brings savory staples like dalia, poha, upma, parantha, and daily eggs. The kitchen surprises us.

    Lunch is a wholesome Indian spread: seasonal vegetables, pulses, roti, rice, yoghurt, and a fresh overnight soaked salad.

    Dinner leans lighter and continental: baked vegetables, pastas, Turkish veggies, casseroles, and the occasional indulgent burger.

    The Complete Farm Experience

    Sprawled over 3 acres, Aura offers beautiful outdoor spaces for you to enjoy. Grab a book & a beverage and find yourself by our infinity pool. After a busy day in the studio, take a dip in the pool and relax. A walking path around the entire periphery of the property takes you through our fruit orchard, organic kitchen garden, ponds, potters villa and the meditation circle. You could also find a great spot for a picnic & catch some hammock time.

    Testimonials

    Posted on Google Google
    shradha birdika profile picture
    shradha birdika
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    Had the most magical and beautiful week at Aura!! My time there was so much more wholesome and amazing than I had ever imagined. I got to meet so many incredible people from all around the world and learning about their lives was just phenomenal! Aura is so ecstatic and inspiring and I’m looking forward to being back there soon!!
    Posted on Google Google
    Naomi Mchardy profile picture
    Naomi Mchardy
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    the most gorgeous space on a serene farm with two of the most lovely hosts and wonderful doggies! Andy is such a great teacher and has many incredible stories to tell over the delicious home cooked meals (where lots of the veggies and mangos are from the garden). There’s plenty of opportunities to expand your creativity and really make the experience your own! you can start the day with yoga, have an afternoon swim in the pool and read a book on the hammocks which are all around the property. A home away from home that you will never want to leave and you will meet the best people in the meantime! ❤️
    Posted on Google Google
    Shambhavi Solanki profile picture
    Shambhavi Solanki
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    IG often oversells and under delivers. But every once in a while, if you’re lucky, you may chance upon a true treasure. Aura pottery was such a vibe, full of heart and soul and inspiration! Can’t believe how quickly the week passed and how much it left me wanting for more. The most warm and hospitable hosts, the most wonderful teacher - Andy focused so much on basic building blocks and fundamentals in the beginning that on day three most of us were flying solo! Add to that the lush green environment, the most friendly Dogs, the wholesome and yum food, most of it grown at the farm itself, it was an extremely fulfilling week. Definitely will recommend and would go back for sure. Left a piece of my heart with Fifi and Bono. xxx
    Posted on Google Google
    renu makkar profile picture
    renu makkar
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    The Aura Experience is so much more than a pottery retreat—it’s a peaceful sanctuary where creativity, nature, and community come together beautifully. Andy and Anya have created a warm, welcoming space that encourages freedom of expression and mindful creativity. Working with clay in such a meditative setting is incredibly grounding, and the delicious food, beautiful studio, and lovable dogs make you feel instantly at home. The best part is the wonderful community they’ve nurtured—full of kind, inspiring people who make every visit feel special. I left feeling calmer, more creative, and already looking forward to coming back.
    Posted on Google Google
    srishti mangla profile picture
    srishti mangla
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    This is THE retreat to be at. Andy and Anya have created a safe haven for anyone who wants a break and rejevunate from the stresses of their daily routines. The ecosystem around is healing - from all the dogs and cats, to little creatures, to the trees, and the interiors - everything serves its purpose bringing you closer to your inner child. The pottery studio and lessons are something that will ask you to slow down. Andy teaches with so much contagious passion and the studio challenges you to bring your visions to life, no matter how unrealistic they might be. You will truly have the best time!
    Posted on Google Google
    Radhika Chopra profile picture
    Radhika Chopra
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    Sometimes, the most beautiful experiences are the ones you never knew you needed. 🌿✨ I came to Aura with zero knowledge of pottery and left with a new skill, a quieter mind, and a heart full of gratitude. From the delicious home-cooked food and the furry companions to the serenity of nature and the warmth of every person I met, everything about this place felt special. But what truly made it unforgettable were Andy and Anya, who welcomed us like family and made us feel at home from day one. A special thank you to Andy for being an inspiring teacher. Every lesson was filled with knowledge, encouragement, and a genuine love for the craft. What I thought would be a week of learning pottery turned into an experience of slowing down, creating with my hands, connecting with wonderful people, and rediscovering the joy of being fully present. Forever grateful for the memories, the learnings, the cute doggos and the people who made this experience so meaningful. Until next time. 🌼🤍
    Posted on Google Google
    Ruhani Singh profile picture
    Ruhani Singh
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    One finds Aura at a time when they most need to disconnect from their everyday life, soak in the goodness and feel again. That’s my personal belief and true to form, Aura came at a similar time in my life and thank god for that. Andy not only patiently teaches you pottery but, life lessons that’ll last one a lifetime. She’s clear in her thoughts, immensely patient and has an eye on each and every student in the course. Aura will teach you humility, patience, love for what you make, to think five steps ahead, to pick yourself up every time you give up and more than anything to experience pure joy. Anya, runs the property and the studio with ease and professionalism that’s hard to come by. Between the two of them, they make this life seem the obvious choice managed with utmost ease and an ever welcoming hug. Your time at Aura will be spent learning, feeling gratitude and building a community that’s hard to come by. Thank you for sharing this with all of us.
    Posted on Google Google
    Alexandra Réty profile picture
    Alexandra Réty
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    Being at Aura Pottery has honestly been one of the most fabulous experience of my life. It was the perfect time for this lovely bubble of serenity, creativity, sweetness, this sharing, this beauty, these learnings, these delicious meals, this great moment of relaxation, meeting Andy and Anya, who are warm, brilliant, funny, and smart, and all the beautiful souls I met there. I also really enjoyed the morning yoga. I came for one little little week, I finally stayed two, and I know I’ll be back ! Can’t wait to meet you again ♥️
    Posted on Google Google
    Pallak Jain profile picture
    Pallak Jain
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    Aura Pottery was EXACTLY what I imagined, if not better. Easily the best decision for my 3-0 birthday!!! From the food, to the space, to the kind of women Aura attracts, you can absolutely tell Andy & Anya have built this place with so much intention. The aura truly attracts the people it’s meant to. We walked in as strangers and spent the evening hanging out like long-lost girlfriends. And if that’s not enough, you actually learn pottery the best way possible!!! i.e with patient mentorship, lovely staff, the sweetest dogs, and so much greenery around you. One of the most wholesome and cherished evenings I’ve had in a long time :)
    Posted on Google Google
    Preeti Kamat profile picture
    Preeti Kamat
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    I did a two week pottery course at Aura pottery in Chandigarh recently and boy I hit a jackpot. !! It was one of the most rewarding experiences I had . The place, the course , the people and the four legged friends ( 4 very friendly dogs and many cats on the property) , everything is just so adorable. Anuja and Aanya put their heart and souls in making this retreat a memorable experience for the participants. A big thank you and hug to them. I’m definitely coming back!!

    Getting here

    We’re on the Siswan-Kurali Highway near New Chandigarh. Find us on Google Maps.

    Flying in?

    Fly into Delhi (DEL), then take a short 30-minute connecting flight to Chandigarh (IXC). From there, it’s an easy ride to us.

    Distances by taxi

    Chandigarh Airport (IXC): 45–60 min
    Railway Station: 45-50min
    Sector 17 Bus Station: 30 min

    We arrange airport and railway transfers at a flat INR 2,000 through our trusted taxi partners. Just let us know when you're booking and we'll sort it. Prefer to take your own Uber? Absolutely fine too.