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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

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Pottery Retreats at Aura Pottery

This artist’s retreat in India is best suited to beginners and intermediates looking for a personalized pottery retreat, and peaceful practice time.

Discover a serene haven nestled in the picturesque countryside, where creativity meets relaxation. Join us for a rejuvenating pottery retreat filled with pottery workshops, tranquil surroundings, and unforgettable experiences. At our pottery retreat, we pride ourselves in providing comfortable accommodation, delightful amenities, and a warm, inviting atmosphere that will make your experience truly memorable.

Best suited to individuals who are at the beginner or intermediate level of ceramics, the courses range from one to eight weeks.

What to Expect at the Pottery Retreat

This is a personalized pottery retreat shaped around your individual goals and interests, with a relaxed, flexible curriculum that meets you where you are in your practice. You’ll spend your days on a beautiful farm, enjoying a creative holiday that allows space to slow down, think, feel, and detach from daily life.

Pick from a 2, 4, 6, or 8 week retreat.

Our pottery retreats run all year round, minimum duration being 2 weeks and maximum being  8 weeks.

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

    Choose Your Duration

    Everything you need to know about each retreat, including curriculum, pricing, and what's included, is laidout below.

    2 Week Retreat

    This pottery retreat will cover all the basic techniques and focus on specific tips and troubleshooting tricks to improve your skills in hand-building as well as on the wheel. Refine your work and continue to build upon your construction methods to form functional or sculptural ceramic shapes.

    What You’ll Learn:

    Hand-Building:

    • Pinching, Coiling, Slab Work
    • Surface Decor, Carving, Sgraffito
    • Mugs, Tumblers, Handles, Bowls

    Wheel:

    • Centering, Coning, Pulling
    • Cylinders, Bowls
    Shared Room USD 1,890 · GBP 1,400 · INR 1,54,000
    Single Room USD 2,030 · GBP 1,540 · INR 1,78,500
    Luxury Single USD 2,800 · GBP 2,100 · INR 2,38,000

    Applicable to All Retreat Durations

    4 Week Retreat

    The ideal program length to give yourself a good grounding in pottery is 4 weeks. Get introduced to advanced pottery techniques in both hand-building and wheel throwing during this retreat. You will design your own concepts, both functional and conceptual and learn how to best execute them.

    What You’ll Learn:

    Hand-Building:

    • Pinching, Coiling, Slab Work
    • Surface Decor, Carving, Sgraffito
    • Mugs, Tumblers, Handles, Bowls
    • Exploring complex surface treatment

    Wheel:

    • Centering, Coning, Pulling, Trimming
    • Cylinders, Bowls, Large & Tall Pots
    • Consisten throwing, Altering Shapes
    • Exploring narrow and wide shapes
    • Plates

    Glazing:

    • Introduction to glazes and glaze application
    Shared Room USD 3,591 · GBP 2,660 · INR 2,92,600
    Single Room USD 3,857 · GBP 2,926 · INR 3,39,150
    Luxury Single USD 5,320 · GBP 3,990 · INR 4,52,200

    Applicable to All Retreat Durations

    6 Week Retreat

    This pottery retreat offers students the opportunity to explore and understand ceramics, discovering their own individual language in clay. Participants would design their ideas and build them under the guidance of our instructors.

    What You’ll Learn:

    Hand-Building:

    • Pinching, Coiling, Slab Work
    • Surface Decor, Carving, Sgraffito
    • Mugs, Tumblers, Handles, Bowls
    • Exploring complex surface treatment 
    • Complex pieces 
    • Bottles, Vases, Lids & Jars

    Wheel:

    • Centering, Coning, Pulling, Trimming
    • Cylinders, Bowls, Large & Tall Pots
    • Consisten throwing, Altering Shapes
    • Exploring narrow and wide shapes
    • Plates, Complex Pieces

    Glazing: 

    • Introduction to glazes and glaze application
    • Loading & Unloading a Gas Kiln 
    • Basics of Firing a Gas Kiln
    • Different Glazing Techniques
    Shared Room USD 5,387 · GBP 3,990 · INR 4,38,900
    Single Room USD 5,786 · GBP 4,389 · INR 5,08,725
    Luxury Single USD 7,980 · GBP 5,985 · INR 6,78,300

    Applicable to All Retreat Durations

    8 Week Retreat

    The skills included in this pottery retreat cover all the fundamentals in ceramics that extend into advanced techniques such as execution of conceptual design strategies and construction with mixed approach to form complex forms (sculpture or functional).

    What You’ll Learn:

    Hand-Building:

    • Pinching, Coiling, Slab Work
    • Surface Decor, Carving, Sgraffito
    • Mugs, Tumblers, Handles, Bowls
    • Exploring complex surface treatment 
    • Complex pieces 
    • Bottles, Vases, Lids & Jars
    • Large-scale projects

    Wheel:

    • Centering, Coning, Pulling, Trimming
    • Cylinders, Bowls, Large & Tall Pots
    • Consisten throwing, Altering Shapes
    • Exploring narrow and wide shapes
    • Plates, Complex Pieces
    • Hump & Sectional Throwing
    • Advanced: Lidded Pots & Pitchers

    Glazing:

    • Introduction to glazes and glaze application
    • Loading & Unloading a Gas Kiln 
    • Basics of Firing a Gas Kiln
    • Different Glazing Techniques
    Shared Room USD 7,031 · GBP 5,208 · INR 5,72,880
    Single Room USD 7,552 · GBP 5,729 · INR 6,64,020
    Luxury Single USD 10,416 · GBP 7,812 · INR 8,85,360

    Applicable to All Retreat Durations

    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
    • Daily yoga & meditation sessions
    Studio & Materials
    • All clay, tools, materials & firings
    • 24/7 studio access, beyond class hours
    Travel, Visa & Exploring
    • Letter of invitation for visa purposes
    • Curated, research-backed city recommendations

    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.

    Your Stay - Comfortable and Just like Home

    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

    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
    Shifa Desai profile picture
    Shifa Desai
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    I did the one week retreat at Aura. I fell in love with hand building and the wheel. I learnt a lot about clay, and somewhere between the nature and the practice, found a way back to myself. Big thank you to Andy and Anya for making all this happen.
    Posted on Google Google
    Simran Kumar profile picture
    Simran Kumar
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    Would 10/10 recommend for the pottery, the lovely people and the delicious food. Such a warm, welcoming place to spend time. 🤎 And the doggos? 1000/10. They deserve a review of their own. 🐶🤎
    Posted on Google Google
    Sherry Matini profile picture
    Sherry Matini
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    Paradise for the people who like ceramic pottery. My friend and I are staying at this lovely place for two weeks. The hospitality was amazing the food is excellent. The morning yoga on the top terrace is very pleasant. I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys ceramic pottery the studio is open 24 hours you. We were very lucky because the other guest that were here while we were staying are so much fun to be around. The aura family took care of all our needs while we are staying here as there guest.
    Posted on Google Google
    neera gupta profile picture
    neera gupta
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    Living on the farm at Aura Pottery, surrounded by trees and bird song, was pure magic. Andy is not only a gifted artist but an exceptional teacher, and getting a session with Au was such a wonderful bonus! Anya is a total delight and the ultimate troubleshooter when you need a hand. Sharing beautifully curated meals with our hosts made every evening feel special, and the yoga sessions were truly like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Grateful for every moment, memory, and piece created here. Thank you, team Aura! ✨🌿 Potter’s Paradise!
    Posted on Google Google
    Aparna Kapur profile picture
    Aparna Kapur
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    Beautiful ambiance, lovely host Very positive vibes
    Posted on Google Google
    Jessica Friedman profile picture
    Jessica Friedman
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    Most wonderful place, people, animals food and experience!!! Was so wonderful to be able to take three weeks out if real life and be in creative bliss. Food was beyond delicious every meal (still thinking about the chocolate weeks later) and the company both human and dog was unmatched, have created lasting memories and connections through Aura with people from so many different parts of the world. Andy and Anya have created such a special place and experience, they along with everyone there have really helped me grow as an artist and given me so much confidence. Having Andy to bounce ideas off of and get tips and tricks from has been such a privilege. Would recommend Aura to everyone who wants to have a creative get away, weather you have experience or are a beginner!
    Posted on Google Google
    Priyal Ranka profile picture
    Priyal Ranka
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    Dear Andy It was such an amazing week that I had I really didn’t realised how fast these 7 days were ! It was a pleasure to sit with you at the dining table with fun and amazing new conversation There was so much to learn The food was great … thanks for my allergy friendly food. Also I was the one who always sneak in and ask for extra chocolate I really loved the way you give the flexibility to work in the studio like I could even sleep there ! It is an artist heaven ! Trust me ! Andy , you , Leti , Naomi were so great ! I didn’t knew I could do so much with Clay and at the end of the I didn’t even realised I made that and the feeling Also I use my phone a lot daily and it was the best detox I could get my screen time was literally an hour See you super soon ! Now I know where I need to go for my next staycation So much love to you Priyal Ranka Ajmer / Surat
    Posted on Google Google
    Roshni profile picture
    Roshni
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    Such a beautiful, thoughtful space. The pottery, yoga, food, studio, animals and the warmth of everyone at Aura made the whole experience feel relaxed, creative and very special, Andy is an absolute inspiration
    Posted on Google Google
    Avi Agarwal profile picture
    Avi Agarwal
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
    It truly is a special place — morning yoga to balanced yum healthy home cooked meals, plus access to an equipped 24x7 pottery studio, what else can one ask for, not just to be creative but also heal :) bonus 🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕 love <3. Andy and Anya make a great team, and hosts. You'll want to adapt every part of their lifestyle!

    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.