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Date: August 8 - 11, 2026
Times: 9:30 am - 5pm w/ 1hr lunch
Level: Intermediate/ Advanced
Membership Price: $540 (Members can use code MEMBERS10 upon checkout to receive 10% off)
Students should bring their own tools. Appropriate clay for wood-fire and soda will be available for purchase.
Workshop Description:
In this workshop John will introduce techniques to help the students loosen up and make more free flowing forms. Working both on the wheel and hand-building, often combining the two, John will demo many varied ways to take your work in a whole new direction. It's a great opportunity for students to expand and develop their skills.
John will start the workshop with a simple Japanese technique called kurinuki, forming and hollowing out a solid chunk of clay. He will demo how he makes free formed asymmetrical cups and bowls on the wheel, Work through larger serving vessels, and end up making vase forms which combine hand-built and thrown forms.
Each morning and afternoon John will demo for an hour or so, then he will work with the students while they introduce the technique into their own work. It will be a very fun and informative workshop.
About the Instructor:
John Dix has spent the last 25 of his 35 years with clay primarily in Japan. This has led to works that show a strong Japanese influence but still retain elements of his early
training in the West. “The word that best describes my approach to clay is Serendipity. I’ll have a starting point without a clear destination, a familiar path (constructing a teapot , a sake bottle, etc) which I always give myself permission to diverge from. This freedom brings freshness to the work and has sustained me over the years.” ”Firing with wood takes the idea of ‘serendipity’ to a higher level. I don’t know of any other art form where chance plays such a pivotal role.”
In 1995, the day before the Kobe Earthquake, John met David Jack and Sachiko Matsunaga. They were starting a rural studies foundation in the area of Japan called Tamba, an ancient pottery region. With their support John was able to build an anagram kiln. The place has developed into Fieldwork Japan with facilities for people to come and experience rural Japan through pottery. While John works as an independent potter, he also encourages people from all walks of life to join him at Fieldwork.
Loading the kiln with glazed and unglazed pots takes 5 days. Over the course of the one-week firing copious amounts of ash are produced, giving each piece its own unique character. "It is physically and mentally draining. Years and years went by before I even started to understand what was happening in the kiln."
John still defers to the gods of chance, but in fact at this point he has succeeded in wresting control of the process and mastering all aspects of his firing. John regularly exhibits at galleries and department stores in Tokyo, Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe) and also in the U.S.A.
Required Materials:
Clay tools