Workshops with Deb

In-Person | Estudio Paloma: San Miguel de Allende, MEXICO

October 26-31, 2026
(Learn More)

Cross Pollination

Join returning visiting artist Deborah Schwartzkopf for Cross Pollination, a 5-day ceramics retreat in the vibrant heart of San Miguel de Allende. Blending handbuilding and wheel-throwing techniques, this workshop focuses on creating expressive serving dishes. Deb will guide daily demonstrations and offer personalized support as participants explore altering thrown forms, working with templates, and bisque-fired clay molds. Deb will also share surface development techniques with slip and underglaze. You’ll be encouraged to experiment boldly, refine your voice, and connect your studio practice to broader artistic pathways. Come for the clay, stay for the color, and leave transformed by connection, culture, and collaboration. Two of Deb & Joe’s favorite outings in their last visit to San Miguel were the renowned Mask Museum and the UNESCO site of Atotonilco. We will do our best to organize these trips for the group. Workshop sessions conclude on October 31, giving you the chance to extend your stay and experience the powerful artistry and emotion of Día de los Muertos. You will get the most out of the workshop if you can throw a 5” cylinder and can center clay on the potter’s wheel. Come ready to experiment and draw inspiration from the fabulous city and culture of San Miguel! Running concurrently, ceramic sculptor Joe Wilkinson will be teaching a companion workshop for sculptors. While the two groups work independently, we’ll come together for shared exercises—such as making forms for use as molds, whether for sculptural repetition or thoughtful utility. Both instructors will offer image presentations, giving participants a window into their personal approaches, surfaces, and artistic journeys. These moments of crossover create a rich, collaborative learning environment—encouraging the cross-pollination of ideas between function and sculpture, intuition and technique.

Workshops often include the ideas and techniques shared below:

General workshop description: Led by Seattle-based studio potter, instructor, and inspiring artist Deb Schwartzkopf, this exploratory workshop is for everyone working in clay with an interest in blending wheel throwing and handbuilding techniques. Let the process lead you to new inventions and ways of piecing together functional forms.
These immersive studio days will set in motion your ability to build complex forms with simple parts. We will discuss how expressive shapes spring from sketches, patterns, our environment, and the process of making itself. You will be able to bring home lots of notes captured in photos and sketches, maybe some greenware, and a host of new techniques that will enliven your studio practice! Come ready to experiment and have fun!

Join into an exchange of ideas as you foray into throwing, altering, cutting templates, molding slabs, deriving and defining inspiration, and then assembling. Contemplate the presentation of clay inspirations while browsing local markets, nearby villages, or historic sights. Build memories and share fabulous meal-time experiences with fellow participants. In addition, enjoy all the opportunities the area has to offer! 

Nitty Gritty

Learn new ways to move clay with skill-building exercises. Conversations may roam from surface design solutions to managing small businesses and from art/ life balance to mealtimes as inspiration for form, and much more!

Demonstrations will offer techniques for

·      Working with slabs & wheel thrown parts

·      Combining wheel-thrown and slab-built sections

·      Altering simple wheel-thrown parts

·      Basic template making

·      Creating bisque molds to shape slabs 

·      Making handles

·      Inspiration gathering

Sessional Classes at Rain City Clay