Ceramics studio and pottery workshops in Alvados, Portugal

José and Diana Siphioni laughing together at the potter's wheel in their studio, shelves of pieces behind them

Diana and José throwing bowls at two potter's wheels side by side

Olá – we're José and Diana

Casa Siphioni is our ceramics studio and our home: an old family house in the centre of Alvados, a small village in the limestone hills of the Serra de Aire e Candeeiros natural park.

José came to clay by chance, after he lost his job programming knitting machines in a textile factory in nearby Mira de Aire. Today we run the studio together. Here we make small figures of Portuguese writers, musicians and kings, tableware, and pieces for restaurants and hotels. And we fire the old way: raku, where glowing pieces go straight into leaves and wood, and the paper kiln, built from newspaper, clay and wood.

Come and try it yourself in one of our workshops. You do not need any experience.

Workshops

Three ways to work with clay

Introduction to the potter's wheel
- Duration: about 2 hours
- Minimum participants: from 2 people
Knead, centre and throw your first pieces on the wheel. Beginners are welcome.
Raku firing
- Duration: about 4 hours
- Minimum participants: {{TODO: Mindestteilnehmer}}
Fire glazed pieces in a gas kiln, then let leaves from the garden smoke-colour the bare clay. Your pieces are finished the same day.
Paper kiln
- Duration: about 6 hours
- Minimum participants: {{TODO: Mindestteilnehmer}}
Build an open-air kiln from newspaper, clay and wood, and fire in it – close to how pottery was fired thousands of years ago.