Ceramics - DYNAMIC EARTHENWARE with DYLAN BOWEN.

Sunday 11 October 2026 17:00
Friday 16 October 2026 14:00

Coombe Farm Studios (map)

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A pottery course focusing on free and dynamic making and decorating with earthenware clay and slips - suitable for all abilities - led by Dylan Bowen.

After sell out courses since 2022 we’re thrilled that Dylan will be back to make, demonstrate and teach various techniques based on his own work.

The course is really accessible for people of all abilities - from those with very little clay experience to those with a huge amount that want to free themselves up. During the week you will alternate between making and decorating, accompanied by regular demonstrations from Dylan on how he uses clay and slips. These will be simple hand building and decorating techniques which participants can use as a starting point to pursue their own interpretations on basic themes. The emphasis will be on working in the moment, focusing on the development of a loose and free way of using clay and slip. Dylan will concentrate more on the process than the end result. You will be encouragd to make with freedom and momentum whilst leaving space around the action of creating to consider what you have made and how that informs your next steps,. Working in terracotta clay with wires, knives, cutting harps, all manner of mark making tools as well as slip trailers. Brushes, sgraffito, and anything you can lay your hands on.

Renowned for his loosely thrown monochromatic work, Dylan Bowen is a well-established slipware potter. Having trained at the Shebbear Pottery in north Devon and Camberwell School of Art in London, Dylan and his partner Jane Bowen, who is also a potter, now work from their studio in Oxford. For Dylan, the making and decorating process blend together so that the spontaneity and energy invested in the creative process are embodied in the finished piece.

Dylan’s wheel thrown and hand-built works are a balance between traditional painting and ceramics. Inspired by music and abstract expressionism, he pours, trails and brushes slip – a liquid form of clay – onto his pieces. Each bottle is created using a combination of wheel thrown and hand-built elements. Dylan prefers to simplify his approach to applying slip and focus on gestural mark-making.

RESIDENTIAL
£903 + VAT which covers all your tuition, accommodation and food from arrival on Sunday through to departure after lunch on Friday.
NON RESIDENTIAL
£650 + VAT include all tuition, welcome drinks on Sunday and lunch from Mon-Friday.
Some previous experience of working with clay is useful for this course.
Sunday
5-7.00pm Residents arrive
7.00pm Non residents arrive followed by welcome drinks 8pm dinner
Monday-Thursday
8.30am Breakfast for residents
9.30am tuition starts
1.00pm Lunch
2-5.00pm Tuition resumes
Friday
8.30am Breakfast for residents
9.30am-1pm Final tuition session runs
1-2.00pm Final Lunch
2pm onwards - departure
Residential and non-residential spaces available.
RESIDENTIAL
includes all your food, accommodation and tuition from arrival on Thursday evening through to departure after lunch on Sunday.
NON-RESIDENTIAL
Includes tuition, welcome drinks on Sunday night and all lunches.
NB Residents are not required to share bedrooms, but bathrooms are shared [we do not have any en suite rooms onsite]. Seeac commodationfor more info.

“Just a little note to say thank you. My week at Coombe Farm was wonderful! Dylan’s teaching was so inspiring. I am still buzzing with the joy of it. Your nurturing of us all made it truly special. Food & balm for the body, mind & soul!”

— Therese - Course Participant 2025

All the decorating of your work is completed during the course.
TAKING WORK HOME TO FIRE
If you have your own kiln you can then take the work home to be fired. If you’re taking your work home there’s a £2 per kilo charge for the clay and slips and we recommend you bring lots of packing boxes and wrapping materials with you.
LEAVING WORK HERE FOR US TO FIRE FOR YOU.
If you would like us to fire it for you we will allow the work to dry, bisque fire, apply the glaze and fire again. This process takes time, how long will depend on the other work going through the studio at the time and we will keep you informed of the process and timeline.
There is a charge of £5 per kilo for any work you’d like fired and glazed in this way (NB as a rule of thumb something the size of a mug costs around £1.40).
Once completed you can collect your work or it can be couriered to you. Courier costs dependant on how much work and your location
All the materials will be provided however if you have your own tools feel free to bring those with you.
MAX 8 to enable Dylan to have enough time with each of you.
We are located in Devon, SW England, our postcode is TQ6 0JA
DRIVING
We have plenty of free onsite parking.
TRAINS
Nearest station is Totnes then we can arrange lift shares or send taxi details. We are about 20 minutes from the station.
FLYING
Our nearest airport is Exeter, then Newquay, Bristol and London.
[What3words: What3words: fulfilled.exploring.branching]

“The two biggest influences on my work are my Dad (Clive Bowen) and my wife (Jane Bowen). Both are slipware potters and I feel most of what I am able to do is built on the foundations of what they have already done. I think after a while you accumulate so many influences that they form a kind of stew in which it is harder to extract specific ingredients. I know I am constantly looking at marks, whatever the source, and sometimes that becomes distracting. Rather than enjoying the work, my first thought is, can I use this? Can this be mine? Can I use this emotion? Like a vampire!”

— Dylan Bowen