POTTERY & PRESENCE - INDIA

14th -30th of November 2026

A Two-Week Immersive Ceramic Retreat at Anvi Pottery in Rural Maharashtra

Clay. Fire. Stillness. Presence

Four hours south of Mumbai, hidden among forests, quiet villages, monsoon skies, and slow country roads, lies a place devoted to clay, fire, beauty, and presence - Anvi Pottery
A place where mornings begin with birdsong and incense drifting through the trees.
Where hands meet earth before the mind fully awakens.
Where the turning of the wheel becomes meditation.
Pottery & Presence — India is a rare ceramic retreat for those seeking more than a course.
It is an experience of artistry, stillness, culture, and transformation.

Study with Master Potter Sandeep Manchekar
At the heart of the retreat is daily study with internationally respected ceramic artist Sandeep Manchekar.
With decades devoted to wheel throwing, wood firing, raku, kiln building, and ceramic traditions influenced by Japanese and Indian aesthetics, Sandeep offers deep and personal instruction in:
Pottery wheel mastery
Centering and throwing
Elegant form and finishing
Surface texture and glaze aesthetics
Raku and lustre firing
Wood firing philosophy
Clay bodies and ceramic materials
The relationship between breath, body, and form

Beginners are welcomed warmly.
Experienced potters are guided toward greater refinement and artistic depth.
This is not rushed learning.
It is true immersion.

Elizabeth Evans — Presence and Care
Ceramic artist and retreat curator Elizabeth Evans weaves beauty, warmth, and restoration through every part of the experience.
Together with the women of the studio, she guides:
Dawn yoga sessions
Evening yoga nidra
Meditation and deep relaxation
Shared meals and cultural experiences
Quiet rituals and restorative moments

Elizabeth also teaches her distinctive Raku firing process — an unforgettable dance of smoke, flame, unpredictability, and transformation beneath the night sky.
Here, the retreat honours both mastery and mystery.

Yoga, Meditation & The Art of Presence
Pottery asks for steadiness.
Attention.
Patience.
The clay responds to the state of the nervous system.
For this reason, yoga and meditation are woven deeply into the ceramic practice.
Each morning begins with movement and breath as the countryside slowly awakens.
Each evening closes with stillness and restoration with yoga nidra under the stars.
The result is a deeply grounded experience and a return to presence.

The Beauty of Rural India
This is not luxury tourism.
It is something quieter.
More intimate.
More real.

You will experience:

A real pottery studio environment

Traditional Indian meals prepared with care
Chai beside glowing kilns
Village walks and quiet countryside roads
Long conversations beneath the stars
Monsoon rains and warm earth
Nature, simplicity, and slow living
Guests often describe Anvi Pottery as life-changing not only because of the pottery skills learned, but because of the atmosphere itself.
There is space here to be inspired and to breathe again.

Accommodation & Meals
Guests stay at Anvi Pottery, in simple, beautiful accommodation surrounded by nature and village life.
Rooms are designed for rest, quiet, and restoration.
Expect:
• Comfortable shared or private rooms
• Rustic elegance and Indian charm
• Beautiful gardens, open skies and fresh air
• Nourishing homemade Indian meals
• Fresh chai and seasonal ingredients
• Quietmornings and candlelitevenings

Words From Participants from previous courses and retreats

“The atmosphere Elizabeth creates is unlike anything I’ve experienced — deeply beautiful, grounding, and restorative.”

“Sandeep teaches with extraordinary precision, it has been a life changing ecperience for me .”

“The combination of clay, yoga, fire, and rural India felt transformative in the quietest and most genuine way.”

“I came exhausted and creatively blocked. I left feeling clear, inspired, and deeply connected to myself again.”

Who This Retreat Is For

This retreat is for:
• Creatives and artists
• Ceramic lovers
• Beginners longing to learn
• Seekers of beauty and slowness
• Those craving restoration and depth
• Anyone longing to reconnect with the hands, the senses, and what matters
You do not need experience.
You only need curiosity.

Retreat Details
14th - 30th November 2026
Anvi Pottery Rural Maharashtra, India

Included:
• 14 nights accommodation at Anvi Pottery
• Daily pottery instruction
• Pottery materials and studio access
• Yoga and meditation sessions
• Raku firing workshops
• Village and temple excursions
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Tea and refreshments

Not Included:
• International flights
• Travel insurance
• Visa fees
• Personal purchases
Only 5–10 participants.


Come As You Are
You do not need experience.
You do not need certainty.
You only need curiosity.
A longing to create.
A desire to slow down.
A wish to feel something real again.
This retreat welcomes complete beginners, experienced ceramic artists, and everyone in between.
Come exactly as you are.
The clay will meet you there.

“The soul of India lives in it’s villages” - Mahatma Gandhi

An Experience Few Places on Earth Can Offer
There are few places left where one can live this closely with clay and fire while immersed in nature, Indian culture, meditation, and community.
Pottery & Presence — India is more than a retreat.

Places are very limited due to the unique nature of this once in a lifetime opportunity so you must act quickly!
This retreat is intentionally limited to a maximum of 8 partecipants to ensure personal guidance at the wheel and a deeply held group experience.
If your heart feels a gentle yes, we invite you to honour it.

Retreat Investment

Fee: €2,600

Applications are now open

A non-refundable deposit is required to secure your place.

Payment plans are available upon request

Please note: International flights are not included.

How to Apply

To Apply, please write to:
earthtostarsstudio@gmail.com

Or complete the booking form below and we will send you a PDF with more details.

If you have any questions, I would be delighted to hear from you and happy to provide any further information.

Come with me to a land of red earth, monsoon skies, temple bells, and fire.

Where clay spins slowly beneath your hands,
and pottery becomes a meditation.

In the villages of India,
among wood kilns, jungle roads, chai stalls, and sacred silence,
we gather to create, to breathe, to soften.

To learn clay and fire with Sandeep Manchekar.
To move slowly.
To remember beauty.

Come as you are…

Elizabeth