Kurinuki carving is one of the more unique team building events on the Bay Area coast: instead of building a pot up, each guest starts with a solid ball of clay and carves pieces away until a vessel appears. This group lesson takes place in a bright community ceramics studio in Pacifica, one block from the beach, and every guest leaves having made a piece that will be glazed and fired.
The workshop runs up to 2 hours and is priced at $95 per guest. Any group from 2 to 45 guests books at the same rate, from a small team to a full department, and no clay experience is needed: the lesson is designed for beginners and intermediates alike, and an experienced instructor teaches the basics from the start.
What's Include
Kurinuki carving is one of the more unique team building events on the Bay Area coast: instead of building a pot up, each guest starts with a solid ball of clay and carves pieces away until a vessel appears. This group lesson takes place in a bright community ceramics studio in Pacifica, one block from the beach, and every guest leaves having made a piece that will be glazed and fired.
The workshop runs up to 2 hours and is priced at $95 per guest. Any group from 2 to 45 guests books at the same rate, from a small team to a full department, and no clay experience is needed: the lesson is designed for beginners and intermediates alike, and an experienced instructor teaches the basics from the start.
What's Included
- Up to 2 hours of instruction with experienced instructors
- Two projects for every guest
- Clay, firings and glaze
- The service of glazing your work from a choice of 4 dipping glazes
- A call in 3 to 4 weeks when your fired pieces are ready to pick up
What You Will Make
The studio admires the history, breadth and beauty of Japanese pottery, and kurinuki is a Japanese ceramics technique built on subtraction. Each guest has the opportunity to make one large kurinuki vase or two small tea cups, carving the form and its texture by hand. After the lesson the pieces are glazed from a choice of 4 dipping glazes and fired at the studio in Pacifica.
Optional Woodfire Upgrade
Groups that would like to use a high fire clay and have their pieces fired in the studio's hybrid woodfire kiln can request it in advance. This special firing experience costs $120 per guest, and it comes with an invitation to the kiln unload at the studio's atmospheric firing center in San Gregorio, a memorable second outing for a team that wants to see its work come out of the fire.
Why It Works for Groups
Carving is quiet, focused and surprisingly social. People compare shapes, trade tips and laugh at the first few cuts, and the finished vase or pair of cups gives everyone something to talk about long after the day. It suits teams looking for team building workshops that feel different from a meeting room, and the flexible size range makes it work both as one of the easier team building outings for small groups and as one of the calmer large group team building activities for up to 45 guests.
For planners searching for creative team building ideas, it also pairs well with the location: a beach walk, a bluff hike or lunch nearby turns the lesson into a full offsite day.
A Studio One Block From the Beach
The studio sits one block from Linda Mar Beach in Pedro Point and just a turn away from Devil's Slide, so the session can anchor a whole coastal outing. Groups can enjoy a hike along the bluff or the beach before or after the lesson, watch the surfers catch waves, and sometimes spot a passing whale. There are restaurants, a brewery and a coffee roaster a block away, and the instructors are happy to recommend a few places during your lesson. The bright, newly renovated space is clean, relaxed and friendly, and the studio welcomes all ages and skill levels.
About the Studio
This women-owned community ceramics studio offers memberships, classes, single-day pottery experiences, workshops and atmospheric firings, with 20 mid-fire dipping glazes on the shelves and a separate atmospheric firing center in San Gregorio for woodfire, soda, raku and pit firing. The team includes experienced wheel throwing, handbuilding and firing instructors who teach private lessons for team building, group celebrations and anyone who wants to try clay for a day. Guests give the studio a 4.9-star rating across 61 reviews and often mention the welcoming atmosphere and kind staff.
Good to Know
- Clay is a fun and messy medium, so wear clothes you are comfortable getting dirty
- The weather in Pacifica varies, so dress in layers
- The clay does not stain and comes out in the wash
- Expect a call in 3 to 4 weeks letting you know your fired pieces are ready
- Pieces are held for up to one month after you are notified, due to space limitations
- For groups larger than 45, the studio's mobile clay team offers separately priced events at your location
Plan Your Kurinuki Workshop
Share your preferred date and group size to check availability. At $95 per guest with instruction, clay, glaze and firing included, this is one of the most rewarding hands on team building activities for adults on the coast.
