When someone writes to us asking about internships, they almost always start the same way: “I’m not sure if this is for me”. And that’s saying something. Because what we offer is not a program with modules or a training plan with written objectives. It’s simpler and more complex at the same time: it’s spending time in a workshop that really works.
Tierra Cerámicas has been an active studio in Barcelona for years. We don’t only give classes. There are workshops, coworking, production, and a daily management of the space that never stops. That means that whoever comes to do an internship here does not enter a simulated environment. They enter something real, with everything that implies: the rhythm, the controlled disorder of busy days, and also the calm of quieter moments.
What you learn here is not in any syllabus.
This is what is most difficult for us to explain. There are things that you learn by doing and being, not by reading or being told.
An important part of the time is what we could call the backroom of the workshop: preparing the space before a class starts, organizing materials, understanding how the pieces are distributed in the oven and why, knowing what to do when a workshop is over and everything has to be ready for the next day. It sounds unglamorous. But that’s exactly where you understand how a real studio works.
Then there is the contact with the students. Supporting in classes, being present in workshops, seeing how people with very different levels are accompanied. That is also something you learn. And it is something that very few people have the opportunity to see up close.
And then there is the rest: the ovens, the production processes, the internal logic of a space where many things coexist at the same time. There is no closed list because not every day is the same.
Who this is for and who it is not for
Let’s be blunt: this is not for someone who wants to start from scratch.
If you have never worked with clay, or if you have very little base, the practices on Earth are not the right starting point. Not because we don’t want to teach, but because the rhythm of the studio requires that those who join have a certain autonomy from the beginning. If everything has to be explained from scratch, the workshop cannot work well and neither can the experience.
What we are looking for is people who have already gone through some training process in ceramics. Who know what a potter’s wheel is, even if they don’t master it. Who understand that in a shared space order is not optional. Who are willing to learn, but from a place of base, not of absolute beginning.
Attitude matters as much as technique. Consistency, good manners, the ability to observe before asking questions. That’s what makes an incorporation work.
How is the day to day
There is no standard workday because each new hire is different. It depends on the agreement, the study schedule, the profile of the person who comes.
But in general, the day starts with the space: checking that everything is in order, preparing what is needed, attending the ovens if there is baking. There is a part of the work that is repeated. This is deliberate. Repetition is one of the most honest ways to learn how a workshop works.
Throughout the day there is contact with different dynamics depending on what is going on: classes, workshops, coworking, production. A Wednesday with three classes in a row is not the same as a Saturday with a group workshop. Learning to move in this variety is also part of the experience.
In addition to the practice hours, the program includes free time in the workshop and a weekly class in one of our shifts, according to availability. The mud of the free work is up to each one, as it happens with the rest of the people who work in the studio.
What kind of practices do we accept
Internships are formative and require an agreement with a university, school or training center. Without this framework, we cannot process them, regardless of the profile.
We accept curricular, extracurricular and Erasmus+ traineeships. In all three cases the process is the same: first we see if there is a real fit, and if there is, we proceed with the documentation.
For those coming from outside Spain through the Erasmus+ program, Barcelona is a common destination for this type of mobility. Tierra can act as a host company within the framework of the program.
Why an independent study
Doing an internship in a small, independent studio has something that a large center cannot offer: you see everything. The decisions, the problems, the solutions, the good day and the day that goes wrong. The human scale makes everything more visible and more real.
It is not better or worse than other options. It is different. And for certain people, at a certain point in their education, it’s exactly what they need.
How to apply
If after reading this you think it fits your moment, send us an email to practicas@tierraceramicas.com with the subject “Internship application – your name”.
Tell us about your background, your experience in ceramics and when you could join us. We review each application carefully. If we see a fit, we move forward with documentation and, in a second phase, an interview.
You can read all the program details, format and requirements on the internship page.
→ See the complete internship program at Tierra Cerámicas. https://www.tierraceramicas.com/practicas-ceramica-barcelona/
