Ancient Pottery Workshop (Spring)

When:	March 23 – 27, 2026
Where:	Near Sunizona, Arizona
Instructor:	Andy Ward
Student Limit:	12

Immerse yourself in the ancient art of the prehistoric Southwest with this hands-on, five-day pottery workshop. You’ll gain a deep understanding of the region’s iconic pottery and learn how to faithfully recreate them using only the techniques and materials available to potters 700 years ago.

Activities Include

• Digging and processing wild clay from the surrounding landscape
• Hand-building vessels using traditional coil-and-scrape techniques
• Burnishing with smooth stones to achieve a lustrous surface
• Painting intricate designs with mineral pigments and yucca-brush tools
• Firing your finished pots in an open, wood fire — just as the ancients did

Class Includes

• All materials
• Lunch fixings on 3 days
• Field trip to dig wild clay
• Visits to prehistoric ruins
• One year of full access to all Andy’s pottery masterclasses ($105 value)
• Field trip to the Amerind Museum
• Camping on site, lodging is available nearby for those that want a more comfortable bed.

Class Schedule

Monday March 23
Introduction to Southwest pottery tools and materials. Visit an ancient ruin, talk about how to reproduce the pottery we see. Begin forming your first pot.

Tuesday March 24
Finish first pot and begin second pot. Field trip to dig wild clay. 

Wednesday March 25
Pottery drying day. Field trip to Amerind Museum, have lunch at local cafe and collect clay on the playa.

Thursday March 26
Finish up pottery, painting designs. Fire white ware pottery in a smothered pit fire.

Friday March 27
Fire brown ware pottery in an open surface fire and remove pots from smothered fire. Class should finish up no later than noon.

---

Enroll in this Class

Cost is $620, a $150 deposit will hold your place. Sign up soon because space is very limited.

---

About the Venue

The class is taught next to the ancient ruins of Chihuichi near the western flank of the Chiricahua Mountains. This village was occupied from about 1330 to 1400 by the Mogollon Culture. This is a primitive venue, we will be outdoors almost all day, there will dirt, uneven surfaces, sun and off-trail hiking. Primitive camping is available on site at no additional cost or there are bed and breakfasts, inns and RV parks nearby. This is a wonderful opportunity to get an idea what life was like for the people that lived in southeast Arizona centuries ago.

About the Instructor

Andy Ward began reproducing prehistoric pottery in high school, now more than 30 years later he teaches pottery workshops throughout Arizona and New Mexico. The focus of Andy’s pottery is on polychrome pottery types of the prehistoric Salado and Mogollon people. He has taught prehistoric pottery workshops for the Silver City Clay Festival, Archaeology Southwest Preservation Archaeology Field School and Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, among others.

Testimonials

“As a former ceramics major in college married to an anthropologist, I found your class enlightening as well as very fun… My experience of local pottery has been so enriched by the experience of your class. Keep up the good work!!”
Carol D. Tucson, AZ

“Not only is Andy Ward an excellent potter, he is also an excellent teacher. His workshops on recreating ancient Native American pottery of the Southwest are superb. Participants experience the full range of pottery production from processing clay gathered from natural sources to forming the vessels, decorating them, and firing them. He teaches the practices of ancient potters, using the same tools they used. I have taken two workshops with Andy and plan to take others when the opportunity arises. It is more than a worthwhile experience.”
Sharon M. Tucson, AZ

“Andy’s class was one of the most fun and educational classes I’ve ever taken. I learned a lot about the history and different types of pre-historic pottery made in Arizona, the various methods used to form, finish and fire the pots, and was able to practice what I learned and make a pot of my own! And Andy is as kind as he is knowledgeable. I am not an “artsy” type and Andy was very patient with me. His encouragement, enthusiasm and love of traditional Southwest pottery-making is contagious. Everyone is the class was thrilled that they took it!”
Roberta G. Tucson, AZ

---

---

Lodging

• Yaqui Hideout – 18 miles away
• Dreamcatcher Inn – 3 miles away
• The Inn at Sunsites – 22 miles away
• Many Airbnb offerings

Transportation

The site is about an hour and 40 minutes from the Tucson International Airport so if you are planning on flying in you will probably need to rent a car. If you are planning on driving in we are about 40 minutes south of I-10 at Willcox, Arizona.

Questions?

If you have any questions before you can commit for this workshop please contact Andy, the instructor using the contact form on this website.