Self-directed · Rakkar, Himachal Pradesh
The Practice WeekYou know the craft. Need more hours.
One or two weeks of studio time that is yours to spend, above Dharamshala. A wheel of your own, a room in the mud house, three meals a day, and Madhumita twice a week when you want an eye on what you are making.
- 1 or 2 weeks
- 25 or 50 hrs · 5 a day
- From ₹40,000
- Room and meals included
- 2× a week
- Scheduled with Madhumita
No curriculum · You set the work
Two lengths
One arrangement. Two lengths.
The Practice Week
For a week inside a longer trip: you are passing through and you want the days at the wheel rather than on a bus.
- 7
- Nights
- 5
- Studio days
- 25
- Your hours
- 2
- With Mita
₹40,000≈ $423
₹5,714 a night, everything in: the mud house room, three meals, all clay and glazes, and 5 kg of firing.
Twenty-five hours on your own work, two hours with Madhumita, and the smaller pieces fired before you leave.
- Five studio days, five hours each, yours to spend
- A wheel of your own for the week
- Five kilograms of firing included
Glazed work is fired twice and takes three to six weeks, so anything you glaze late in the week follows you home by post rather than in your bag.
The Practice Fortnight
For the stretch where something actually shifts: long enough to make the same form twenty times and watch it change.
- 14
- Nights
- 10
- Studio days
- 50
- Your hours
- 4
- With Mita
₹72,000≈ $762
₹5,143 a night, everything in: the mud house room, three meals, all clay and glazes, and 10 kg of firing.
Fifty hours, four sessions with Madhumita, and enough repetition that the second week looks nothing like the first.
- Ten studio days, and the second week is where the work gets good
- Costs less per night than the single week
- Ten kilograms of firing, and time to glaze properly rather than in a rush
- Enough consecutive days for a set, not a handful of samples
If what you actually want is to be taught, the two-week immersion covers these same fifty studio hours with Madhumita running every one of them, and we would rather point you there than sell you this.
From the studio
What it actually looks like.
Not a brochure. Two clips from the studio’s own Instagram, shot on ordinary days: the mountains through the windows, the chatter, the rain, the pizza.
They play here without sound. Tap either one for the whole thing, music and comments included.
Clay-covered hands, endless chatter, spontaneous pizza afternoons, little walks between making, and slow pottery while the monsoons roll in. No rush, no perfect schedule.
In a parallel universe I run a tiny pottery studio in the mountains. Life at the studio lately.
More of the day-to-day on Instagram, at @mitapotterystudio.
How a day goes
Nobody will tell you what to make.
- More pots than you have ever made in a row, which is the point
- The same form thrown enough times that the tenth is not the first
- A fault you have carried for months, named out loud by someone watching
- Work thrown at a weight you chose rather than whatever the clay allowed
- Glazes you did not have at home, tested on your own forms
- A finished set, if you spend the fortnight on one
You are not alone in the room. Weekend workshops and the monthly class batches run through the week, and there will usually be other people at the far end of the table. It is a small studio being honest about its size rather than a facility.
Twice a week
The bit you cannot get from an empty studio.
The first morning
Day one, about an hourYou throw for a bit and she watches, which tells her more than any description of your experience would. Then you decide together what the week is actually for: a form you have been circling, a fault you keep hitting, or just volume on the wheel. Most people arrive with a vaguer plan than they think, and leave this hour with a specific one.
The middle of the week
Day three or four, about an hourEverything you have made comes off the shelf and goes on the table at once, which is the only way to see what your hands are actually repeating. This is where a week stops being practice and starts being progress: it is usually one small correction, and it is usually not the one you expected.
Where you stay
A mud house, and eating at home.
The Mud House
A clean, private room in a traditional mud-and-slate village house: cool through summer, warm in winter, and honest in the way old buildings are. Full of the character that brings people to this valley.
- A private room, yours alone on a solo booking
- Private bathroom
- Hot water, heating and fast Wi-Fi
- Garden, orchard and a shared terrace
- A short walk from the studio
The Premium Room
A larger, quieter apartment with its own sitting room and kitchenette, so your morning coffee and your late tea run on your schedule rather than anyone else's.
- A private room, yours alone on a solo booking
- Separate bedroom and sitting room
- Private balcony
- Private kitchenette and bathroom
- Hot water, heating and fast Wi-Fi
- Housekeeping and laundry included
Booking on your own, as most guests do? The room is yours alone: we never put two guests who do not know each other in the same room. Travelling as a pair and happy to share? Message us and we will quote for the two of you.
The Premium Room is a quoted upgrade here rather than a second price, at roughly ₹1,200 a night on top. Say so when you write and we will price your dates.
Rakkar is a village rather than a resort. The internet is good enough to work on, the evenings are genuinely dark, and Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj are a short drive when you want a city afternoon. Most people find the lack of things to do is the point.
The fee
What it costs, and what is in it.
| Length | Nights | Studio hours | With Madhumita | Mud house |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Practice Week | 7 | 25 over 5 days | 2 sessions | ₹40,000≈ $423 |
| The Practice Fortnight | 14 | 50 over 10 days | 4 sessions | ₹72,000≈ $762 |
Included
- 25 or 50 studio hours, 11 AM – 5 PM, self-directed
- 2 scheduled sessions a week with Madhumita, and her eye whenever she is in the studio
- A wheel of your own, for the whole stay
- Private room in the mud house, 7 or 14 nights
- Three homemade meals a day
- All clay, generously
- All glazes, slips and underglazes
- All studio equipment and firing kit
- Bisque and glaze firing of your first 5 kg (week) or 10 kg (fortnight) of finished work
- Studio apron and every tool you need while you are here
- Airport pickup at Gaggal on arrival
- Your finished work packed for the flight
Not included
- A curriculum. Nobody will hand you a plan for the week
- Exclusive use of the studio: classes and workshops run through the week around you
- International flights and Indian visa
- Travel and medical insurance, which we ask you to carry
- Cafés, and meals eaten out on your rest days
- International shipping of finished work, which we do not offer
- Domestic shipping within India, arranged at cost
- Glazing beyond the included work, at ₹800 per kg, or ₹1,200 per kg for underglazes
- Firing beyond your allowance, and any piece large enough to need a cabin of its own (see the firing rates)
Ask about dates
Tell her what you are working on. She will say if it fits.
Nothing is charged and no dates are held here. Madhumita writes back herself, usually the same day, and will tell you plainly if the retreat or the immersion would serve you better than this.
Preview your message
Hi Madhumita! I'd like to ask about a practice week. *Length:* The Practice Fortnight (14 nights · 50 studio hours · ₹72,000) *Roughly when:* Still deciding *What I already do:* Done a course or two *Name:* not given *Travelling from:* not given Sent from the practice week page on mitapottery.com
Opens WhatsApp with everything written for you. Read it, change it, send it.
Questions