PLAY & RELAX @ BURQUE’S Favorite CLAYGROUND
Opportunities to Clay with Us
The Clayground is open!
Independent studio time is available to the public by reservation of 4 hours slots – Saturdays & Sundays 10a-6pm ($25/4 hours), during the academic semester. Weekday evenings are available by arrangement.
Course Descriptions
Welcome to the Clayground!
Curious about the clay, drop in for a day. Want a space just for you, reserve a month or two! Make your joy in this supportive space where it’s safe to be authentically you, follow your curiosity, and explore your imagination. Move between handbuilding and the wheel, explore surface techniques, and enjoy some creative free play. This is also open studio time for current and experienced students to enjoy co-working space between classes. Studio tools, materials, and fire are included. We intentionally limit seats to keep the farm quiet, so the wildlife comes around. You’ll see! The Clayground feels like a little sanctuary. Find your piece of peace here.
Creative free play | $25 for four hours
Weekends by reservation | Saturdays & Sundays 10a-8pm
New to pottery? Begin with a Foundations Course or Private Instruction.
Foundations Courses
Handbuilding Foundations
Start with a lump of clay and your own two hands. Learn to pinch, coil, and build with slabs as your ideas take shape. Add color and texture, then glaze and fire. Have some fun!
Wheel-Throwing Foundations
Center the clay, open it, and pull – seems simple right? Try your hands at the pottery wheel. Learn to form simple shapes on the wheel, trim and finish, and glaze to suit.
High Fire Experiences
Advanced Forms & Surfaces
Ready to push the boundaries and see what’s possible? We’ll explore new forms, tools, glazes and surface techniques, with plenty of time to experiment.
Wood-Fire Workshop
Join the GullyGama fire crew. Over four weekends, we prepare the wood, load the kiln, and fire for about 40 hours to cone 12. Once the kiln cools, we unload and see how our pots were transformed. This is an immersive, labor-intensive experience, but well worth it for the unique opportunity to learn about this ancient way of dancing with fire. Long hours around the kiln leave room for learning, stories, good company and a community feast.
Private Instruction
Have the Clayground to yourself for focused instruction shaped around your goals. Bring a special project, learn a new technique, or get the support you need to bring an idea to life. Private lessons offer a quiet, comfortable space without the activity of a group class. Great option for friends groups too!
Low Fire Experiences
Adventures with Atmosphere
When pots get hot, chemical reactions create wild and wonderful surprises. We can use different aesthetic techniques to guide the results, but the heat always brings something unexpected. Explore the science and spontaneity of low-temperature atmospheric firing. We experiment with raku, obvara, saggar. Join us around the fire for an adventure in science and spontaneity!
ClayDates for Grown People
Gather your people for a private party experience shaped around what you want to make or celebrate. Choose a project at registration for the group to make. Bring the music and treats. We’ll take care of the clay. Your creations will be ready for pickup after drying and firing.
Choose one of our featured projects or design your own. What :
- Chessboards and handmade pieces
- Clay whistles
- Make a mug
- Paint a plate
- Masks
Kids are the most awesome artists!
Spend a few days immersed in clay between academic semesters. These classes are designed with young learners in mind – we’ll explore various techniques and tools with a twist of silly and a sprinkling of academics. While they create their next masterpiece in the studio, students will learn what clay is made of and where to find it, it’s history and diverse impact on society, and it’s modern role in the world around us. This is a great opportunity for the home-school community to incorporate History, Chemistry, Archaeology, Geology, Geography, Fire Science, Ecology, and Anthroplology concepts into a multisensory creative learning experience. Classes may be offered for homeschool credit.
All materials and firings are included. Sibling and group rates are available. Classes for ages 7–17 may be drop-off experiences. Adults who want to create alongside their young artist are welcomed. Caregivers participate with youth in Peaceful Hearts, Clay Together, and Family Clay Experiences. Contact us to arrange a class or join the next scheduled session.
Class Offerings
Kids at Clay | Ages 7–12
Explore handbuilding, surface design, and the science behind it through playful, guided projects. We’ll learn new skills, try out your ideas, and make cool pottery.
Teen Clay | Ages 13–17
Bring your curiosity and build your skills through handbuilding, wheel throwing, and guided projects. Beginners and experienced young artists all welcome.
Clay Together
A small, flexible pottery class for autistic youth and their caregivers. Clear routines, sensory choices, and guided projects allow families to create together at their own pace.
Deaf Kids at Clay
Explore handbuilding, surface design, and the science behind it through playful, guided projects. We’ll learn new skills, try out your ideas, and make cool pottery. Classes are taught in ASL.
Private Classes
Have the Clayground to yourself for focused instruction shaped around your interests. Bring a special project, learn a new technique, or get the support you need to bring an idea to life. Private lessons offer a quiet, comfortable space without the activity of a group class. Students ages 12 and older may attend independently. Younger artists participate with a caregiver.
Friend Groups & Parties
Plan a pottery experience for one young artist or a small group. Choose handbuilding, wheel throwing, or a guided project shaped for your interests and celebration.
Peaceful Hearts | Ages 3–6
Little ones and their grown-ups explore clay through the Peaceful Hearts Project. We squish, roll, press, and shape the clay, and make a little heart to hold your peace. Great idea for a claydate with our youngest artists.
Family Clay Experience
Have the Clayground to yourselves for a private family workshop. Choose a project, bring your favorite music and snacks, and create together at your own pace. We provide the clay, tools, instruction, and firing.
Wood-Fire on the Rio Grande!
Join the GullyGama fire crew. Over four weekends, we prepare the wood, load the kiln, and fire for about 40 hours to cone 12. Once the kiln cools, we unload and see how our pots were transformed. This is an immersive, labor-intensive experience, but well worth it for the unique opportunity to learn about this ancient way of dancing with fire. Long hours around the kiln leave room for learning, stories, laughter, and good company. We finish by sharing a potluck feast.
The GullyGama Experience
Four weekends | $400 first firing | $200 returning crew. High-fire clay bodies only, suitable for cone 12. Not sure which clay to use? We can provide our preferred clay. You may also reserve the studio to make your work with us before the firing. No wood-firing experience is needed.
Located at our home studio in the bosque, surrounded by farmland and south valley wildlife. The chamber is 3 cubic feet, crossdraft. The firing crew is 5 people per cycle on average; ware space is distributed proportionately. The studio offers indoor workspace, a kitchen, restroom, and shaded seating. During the firing, the kiln site is a calm and focused space. Participants may head home to rest or camp in the field between shifts.
Weekend 1: Meet & Make
Meet the crew, make pottery, and learn about the wood-firing process. New work will be bisque-fired in time for loading day.
Weekend 2: Prepare & Plan
Prepare the wood, plan the firing, review kiln safety, and choose crew shifts.
Weekend 3: Load & Fire
Glaze and wad our pots, then load the kiln together. We light the fire and begin! Crews tend the fire through the weekend and watch how each stoke changes the kiln.
Weekend 4: Unload & Feast
Unload and finish our pots, clean the kiln site, and gather for a potluck feast.
When pots get hot, chemical reactions create wild and wonderful surprises. We can use different aesthetic techniques to guide the results, but the heat always brings something unexpected. Join us around the fire for an adventure in science and spontaneity!
One-day quick fires: $100 | Two-day workshops: $150 | Earth to Fire: $400
Bring up to 4 pots bisque-fired to cone 06. Earthenware or local clay bodies will work best for these methods.
Need time and space to make your work? Reserve the studio before the workshop.
NM Raku
Saggar Workshop
Pit Fire
From Earth to Fire
Follow clay from the ground to the fire in this month-long weekend workshop. We begin with a field trip to responsibly gather wild clay, then process it and form pots by hand. Along the way, we explore the long human history of pottery and learn how place, materials, and culture have shaped how we make. Our final day brings everything together around the fire for a traditional-style pit firing, followed by a well-earned feast. 2 days x 4 weekends. (~30 hours).
A Clayground for Everyone
Our studio is spectrum-friendly, culturally diverse, and physically accessible. I am fluent in English and ASL, functional in Spanish, and I would love to learn about your language too! All skill levels, interests, and backgrounds are welcome here. We intentionally keep our classes small and our space private. The farm stays quiet, the wildlife comes around. You’ll see! The Clayground feels like a little sanctuary. Find your piece of peace here.
Standard classes include six sessions and start at $150, or about $30 per hour of instruction. Special topics follow their own schedules and pricing; see individual listings for details. A 25% discount is available for librarians, firefighters, and educators. Work-study trade is negotiable for returning students.
Public schedules are posted on our website and social media. Looking for something more personal? Private classes can be shaped for individuals, families, friend groups, homeschool learning, and special interests. We can adapt the experience for a range of access needs. Let us know how we can make your experience comfortable.
