This five-day training, led by Katia Terpigoreva, an artist and practitioner of the material, offers an immersion in a manual process combining textile fibers and liquid porcelain. Participants will discover artisanal techniques through simple, slow, and repetitive movements specific to the crafts of thread and clay.
By handling raw and sensitive materials, each participant will learn to model forms inspired by the living, drawing on the observation of natural processes: drying, firing, fiber tension, etc. Emphasis will be placed on listening to the material, respecting its timing, and the importance of the gesture.

Each participant will create a unique piece combining textile expertise and ceramic shaping, using an artisanal approach where the hand guides the form.

At the end of the training, the intern will be able to:

• Understand liquid porcelain and its interaction with textile fibers
• Explore dipping, hanging, drying, and firing techniques
• Create and assemble organic forms from simple materials
• Develop a sensitive and experimental approach to textile sculpture
• Design a personal piece combining porcelain and knitted cordage

The objective of this training is to support each participant in creating a unique, handcrafted piece by exploring artisanal techniques combining textiles and ceramics. The emphasis is on working with the material, experimenting with natural processes (drying, firing, fiber tension), and the gradual shaping of a personal, sensitive object rooted in the artist's gesture.

The teaching approach emphasizes transmission through practice: demonstrations of techniques, time for free experimentation, personalized support, and discussions on skills. Each trainee is guided in the development of their project, with solid technical guidelines while leaving room for intuition, observation of materials, and personal expression through the hands.

Procedure

Day 1

Morning

• Preparation of the porcelain: liquefaction of the paste until a homogeneous mixture is obtained
• Preparation of the wool: preparation of the fibrous supports for dipping

Afternoon

• Formation of the first grains:
• 1st dipping of the wool in the liquid porcelain
• Suspension for drying
• 2nd preparation of the fibrous supports
• 2nd dipping and suspension

Day 2

Morning

• Collection of dry pieces
• Preparation of the fibrous supports for dipping
• Assembly of the porcelain grains with an airy cord, knitted with using a knitting loom

Afternoon

• Finishing the grains

Day 3

Morning

• Collection of dry pieces
• Preparation of the fibrous supports for dipping
• Dipping in liquid porcelain and suspension for drying

Afternoon

• Post-finishing the grains
• Loading the kiln and starting firing

Day 4

Morning

• Collection of dry pieces
• Post-finishing the grains
• Collection of the fired pieces
• 2nd loading of the kiln and starting firing Firing

Afternoon

• Creating a custom knitting loom
• Assembling the beads into an openwork cord with the knitting loom

Day 5

Morning

• Collecting the dry pieces
• Finalizing the assemblies
• Aesthetic and technical finishing touches

Afternoon

• Finishing the pieces and presenting them
• Tidying up the workshop

Katia Terpigoreva

Born in Moscow, Katia Terpigoreva began her career in journalism, working for nearly twenty years in the worlds of design, architecture, and contemporary art. At 35, she made a radical shift and chose to devote herself to visual art. After a stay in Italy, she settled in Aveyron, where she has lived and worked since 2010.

A self-taught craftsman and artist, Katia develops a free, intuitive, and organic practice, outside of academic frameworks. Her approach explores the sensitive qualities of various materials—porcelain, stoneware, wool, fabric, cement, charred wood, etc.—which she assembles, transforms, or repurposes. She favors slow, repetitive gestures, close to craftsmanship, and allows natural processes (drying, firing, fiber tension, etc.) to influence the final form of her works.
Her creations are at the intersection of plant and mineral elements. Their aesthetic draws its influences from minimalism, Italian anti-design, brutalist architecture, and nature.

A member of the Homo Faber Guide, selected by the Michelangelo Foundation for her commitment to European artisanal excellence, Katia Terpigoreva embodies a renewal of contemporary creation rooted in gesture, material, and time.

Alongside her artistic practice, she regularly collaborates with Atelier Blanc in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, where she has presented several installations, including the remarkable Sans souci, composed of hundreds of porcelain flowers suspended in the art center's gardens.

"I am a girl without roots," she confides. Cosmopolitan and free, she creates a poetic and committed body of work, driven by a simple but essential desire: to make the world a more beautiful place.

• Classroom, multipurpose room, workshops with professional equipment
• Materials provided
• Individual and collaborative work
• Workshop work
• Active participation and experimentation of participants are encouraged

• Collective and personalized monitoring of work, regular updates
• Self-assessment of technical skills
• Collective feedback
• Half-day attendance sheet
• Certification of completion issued by Campus MaNa