kalkspatz e.V. - association to promote culture, knowledge and
social issues in the work with clay


The kalkspatz e.V. was founded in Diessen near Munich/Germany in 1987 and has since become a well known organization nationally amongst potters. The various activities take place in different parts of Germany in order to make links between the North and the South, the East and the West. This has the advantage of making them accessible to many people. The kalkspatz has no own house or room. It appears suddenly in studios and schools to have a workshop there - than disappears again. The German word “Kalkspatz” is a commonly used Expression for lime popping (or lime blowing) among potters. A lime-baring contaminant causes blow-outs on the surface of the pot. It can happen not only soon after the firing but weeks, months or even years later. From another perspective the “Kalkspatz” has some positive aspects: Its durability and the wish for growth. Its great strength and unpredictability. Everybody who works with clay will be affected by it at some point. The "Spatz" (sparrow) is a mid-European bird, characterized by being quite tough, adaptable and a little bit cheeky. We want to encourage more exchange amongst clay enthusiasts and make advanced training possible. and what do you do with clay? We (each of our more than 400 kalkspatz members) call on all who are engaged with this smooth soft and muddy material including students, studio potters and their assistants, teachers and artists. The TOEPFERBLATT is a magazine, published 3 times a year and is not only interesting and informative for kalkspatz-members, but also a lively ceramic magazine without any glossy pictures, with reports about what's going on and tips'n tricks for ceramists. You can find the largest list of job vacancies (for potters) in Germany. The jobmarket is a very lively part of our activities. And both visiting foreigners and Germans abroad use this possibility to get in contact. It is free for all. The Symposium is organized on a regular basis and is a meeting point for teachers and therapists who wish to discuss contemporary issues in their work. This event takes place every 3 years at different places around Germany and brings together ca. 120 people whose interest are in using clay for therapy and pedagogical purposes. The Seminarprogram for workshops is published twice a year and offers ceramic-courses and seminars on subjects like kilnbuilding, development of glazes, throwing on a large scale and educational aspects of ceramics or just introducing a special technique used by a famous artist. Therefor we invite well known ceramists form Germany and other countries in a good mix. The last years we invited form Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, Great Britain, and USA. We produced some videos, for example, about traditional salt firing and the documentation of workshops and lectures (symposiums). Ceramic books where the rights have become free and are no longer printed are a subject we keep an eye on - if possible, we reprint them. Also we did print some books ourself like a Dictionary for traveling ceramists in four languages.

The kalkspatz is a charity. It wants to encourage everybody engaged in the work with clay. As a member you obtain the Toepferblatt, the Seminarprogram for workshops and your participation-fees for all our events are reduced. As a ceramic student you generally just pay half the price on Seminars as well. For more information please send us a letter or a fax or an e-mail or give us a call.