Fogo Clay Studio

When I signed up for a week-long pottery retreat at the Fogo Clay Studio, I hoped to learn about making pottery – and I did, from one of the most patient, kind, and joyful women I know, who also happens to be an extraordinary potter. Sarah Fulford explained the process, more than once, and guided the eight of us through each step, from wedging clay to applying glaze. We spent ~ 25 hours in the studio under her watchful eye. The week is about more than pottery, however, because the retreat takes place on Fogo Island, a beautiful rock in the north Atlantic. Sarah led us on hikes every morning at dawn on pathways lined with berry plants, lichen, mosses, and other island flora. She took us to artists’ studios and galleries. And we toured the famous Fogo Island Inn, the luxurious and (very much) for profit arm of Zita Cobb’s Shorefast charity that draws artists, musicians, writers, and visitors to Fogo. We stayed for six nights with Sarah and her wife, Peggy White, a musician who handcrafts guitars and welcomes and takes care of guests like they are family, good family! Our meals were cooked and presented by former Fogo Island Inn chef, Ian Sheridan, now the owner and head chef of Bangbelly. The retreat was as magical as the island. I’ve never had a more satisfying, restorative, and inspirational time away.