Creative with Clay - Botanical Vases - Experience at the Farmland Museum & Denny Abbey - October 2026
I had a fabulous group of students attend this morning's ceramics experience at the Farmland Museum & Denny Abbey in Waterbeach. Everyone created their own unique large botanical vases - and they all look beautiful!
This workshop enables students to learn the basics of slab work, one of the main hand building techniques used in pottery. We provided plenty of botanicals and stamps for the students to use, and most of the group brought along their own grasses and flowers too. In addition to creating the slabbed vessels, everyone learnt how to attach 3D elements, or sprigs, to their vases to provide further interest.
Despite the awful Fen roads, all the work has made it back to our Blended Monkey ceramics studio where it is now going to dry slowly before being bisque fired, glazed in the students' chosen colours, and then high glaze fired.
It was so lovely to meet everyone and I'm massively impressed with their achievements. See the photos below!
If you missed out on this particular workshop, we're holding it again at various venues next year along with some full-day coiling & botanical vases workshops at the Haddenham Arts Centre:
Saturday 24 April 2027 - Coiling & Botanical Slab Vases Experience - Haddenham Arts Centre BOOK & INFO
Saturday 2 October 2027 - Coiling & Botanical Slab Vases Experience - Haddenham Arts Centre BOOK & INFO
Dates for the half-day botanical vase workshops to follow.
We offer a variety of different arts and crafts experiences in our own studios in Upwell, at the Farmland Museum and at the Haddenham Arts centre.
We also invite other guest tutors to come and teach their amazing crafts here in our Blended Monkey Studios where we have a dedicated ceramics studio, woodturning workshop, outdoor covered green woodworking and sculpture workshop and a small-group crafts studio. We offer experiences ranging from stone carving through to fused glass.
Visit our website and check out our "Group Workshops" for more info and to book an amazing, creative experience!
Rolling botanicals into the slab Students designing their vases - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Botanicals and stamps - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Students designing their vases - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Selection of stamps and botanicals to use on the vases Having fun designing - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Selection of botanicals to choose from Fun daughter & father day - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Couple enjoying the experience - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Students choosing their botanicals - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Rolling in the botanicals - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Couple working on their designs - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Lovely grasses - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Pressing in fern leaves - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Student enjoying the experience - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Lovely group of students - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Students designing their vases - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Students designing their vases - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Adding sprigs - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Lovely cow parsley pressed in - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Vases drying in the Blended Monkey Studios Beautiful cow parsley design pressed in to the clay Students designing their vases - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey Students designing their vases - botanical slab vase workshop with Blended Monkey
Such a lovely group of students! Well done guys!
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