Learn A Traditional Craft At Chase’s Mill In June

From The Monadnock Shopper News, June 4—10, 2025:

Chase’s Mill, a historic landmark in Alstead, will come alive this summer with a variety of offerings for visitors of all ages. This year, the calendar includes a new workshop: Gathering, Using, and Firing Local Clay. This special workshop will be led by Barbara Davis who operates the Old Setters Pottery studio in East Alstead, and will take place on Saturday, June 21st from 1 to 4 p.m. (Pottery made in the workshop will be fired at a later date and returned to the participants.)

Adding to her expertise as a professional ceramicist, Davis recently returned from three months in Mexico where she studied the traditional pottery techniques of Zapotec women. Working alongside them, she learned how to gather local clay, process it so it is usable, form it by hand, and then fire the pottery.

“There is clay everywhere” Davis says. “All you need is a shovel and a bucket!” In this workshop, she will teach the whole process using clay she dug from her own backyard. “It is a beautiful green color that turns a rich orange when fired in the kiln,” she says. “Using an outdoor wood-fired method adds the color of ash to the pots as well.”

For more details or to register for this workshop and see the other events happening at the Mill this summer, go to chasesmill.org.