Finnish Wild Clay and Stillness with Eva
Explore wild clay ceramics with Eva in Helsinki, Finland’s art and design capital. Learn to throw, coil, and sculpt functional and sculptural pieces using native iron-rich Finnish clay. Experience ceramics as moving meditation and take home creations infused with Finland’s quiet, intentional spirit. Outside the studio, discover historic bakeries, artist studios, and world-class design museums.
- Snacks, Coffee, & Tea
Pricing
- One Guest
- USD $1240
- Additional guest(s) (max 4)
- USD $540
Meet the Artist
Eva is a ceramic artist with over 35 years of experience. A native of Finland, her journey is deeply shaped by respect for nature, ritual, and the slow, intentional process of making. After a transformative visit to Yixing, China, home of the revered purple clay teaware tradition, she returned to explore the untapped potential of Finland’s wild materials.
Eva works exclusively with native iron-rich Finnish earthenware, a dense and unpredictable clay often overlooked in Western European ceramics. She has spent decades mastering the patience and skill this material demands. Avoiding glazes, she embraces the clay’s natural texture and color. Her unglazed sculptural forms—from lamps and vessels to geometrical towers and planters—are wheel-thrown, coiled, or hand-built with recycled, handmade tools and minimal resources.
Her practice honors both the body and the earth. Inspired by the Japanese concept of Hara, she uses electric wheels and core-centered movement, creating pottery as a form of moving meditation. Eva’s process is deeply sustainable, firing her work in solar-powered kilns, minimizing waste, and using only local materials.
Eva embraces a simple, considered lifestyle that values quiet beauty, natural materials, and timeless design. She invites you to experience Finnish design’s honesty, functionality, and respect for nature—not only in the clay objects but also in the mindful, slow process of making with care.
Eva works exclusively with native iron-rich Finnish earthenware, a dense and unpredictable clay often overlooked in Western European ceramics. She has spent decades mastering the patience and skill this material demands. Avoiding glazes, she embraces the clay’s natural texture and color. Her unglazed sculptural forms—from lamps and vessels to geometrical towers and planters—are wheel-thrown, coiled, or hand-built with recycled, handmade tools and minimal resources.
Her practice honors both the body and the earth. Inspired by the Japanese concept of Hara, she uses electric wheels and core-centered movement, creating pottery as a form of moving meditation. Eva’s process is deeply sustainable, firing her work in solar-powered kilns, minimizing waste, and using only local materials.
Eva embraces a simple, considered lifestyle that values quiet beauty, natural materials, and timeless design. She invites you to experience Finnish design’s honesty, functionality, and respect for nature—not only in the clay objects but also in the mindful, slow process of making with care.
VAWAA Includes:
- Learn to throw clay on the pottery wheel, from simple bowls to more refined forms.
- Explore handbuilding techniques using wild Finnish earthenware clay, including pinching, coiling, and free-form sculptural building.
- Understand the unique qualities of native Finnish clay—its softness, iron-rich tone, and how it behaves without glaze.
- Create 2–4 pieces such as vessels, planters, or sculptural forms; finished works can be fired and shipped upon request for an additional cost. Working with Kultela wild clay is a slow, thoughtful process; depending on the size and technique, pieces may take several months to age, dry, fire, and finish.
- Experience a mindful, meditative approach to ceramics through slow, intentional processes, with optional silent tea or meditation moments in the studio or nearby park.
- Gain insight into sustainable ceramic practices using local materials, simplicity, thoughtful choices, and low-impact methods.
- Learn how timeless design and native materials come together in sustainable Finnish pottery.
- Option to visit design landmarks like the Design Museum, Museum of Finnish Architecture, Alvar Aalto’s Home, artisan shops in the Design District, or Eva’s creative neighborhood known for its bakeries, vintage shops, artist studios, and laid-back spirit, if time permits.
Explore Helsinki
Helsinki is a city where happiness lives in the quiet rhythm of everyday life—good coffee, clean air, walks by the sea, and moments of stillness. It’s a place where nature and design coexist effortlessly. Eva’s studio is in Kallio, a creative neighborhood just east of the center, known for its artists’ studios, old bakeries, secondhand shops, and laid-back community spirit. The city is easy to explore by tram, bike, or foot, with scenic routes like the Inner City Waterfront Trail offering peaceful views of the sea. Helsinki’s commitment to sustainability and its vibrant cultural scene—including the Helsinki Festival and the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art—reflect a thoughtful blend of tradition and innovation. Whether you're unwinding in a public sauna or browsing the Design District, Helsinki offers an authentic glimpse into the rhythms, materials, and quiet beauty that shape life in this Nordic city.
Additional Details
The best time to visit Helsinki is during the summer months of June to August, when the city comes alive with long days, mild temperatures, and nearly 19 hours of daylight. Early January is also a special time to visit, with Lux Helsinki lighting up the winter darkness. It’s best to avoid the first week of May, when lively student celebrations fill the streets, and Midsummer (around June 21), when most businesses close and locals head to the countryside.
This session can be extended for up to 6 days. Please add a note in your booking request.
Children aged 12 and older are welcome when accompanied by a guardian. Her studio is not ideal for small children, as it contains many fragile, unfinished pieces. Located in a former milk shop in a nearly 100-year-old building, the studio is also not wheelchair accessible due to three steps at the entrance and narrow interior doorways.
Eva speaks Finnish, English, and Swedish.
This session can be extended for up to 6 days. Please add a note in your booking request.
Children aged 12 and older are welcome when accompanied by a guardian. Her studio is not ideal for small children, as it contains many fragile, unfinished pieces. Located in a former milk shop in a nearly 100-year-old building, the studio is also not wheelchair accessible due to three steps at the entrance and narrow interior doorways.
Eva speaks Finnish, English, and Swedish.