Xiaoping shares decades-long experience in mastering the ancient techniques and how he has modified them throughout his career.

Date:  October 18, 19 and 20, 2024
Time:  9:00 – 5:00 PM
Location:  the studio of Firesong/Paperwish | 4327 E. Lewis Ave. Phoenix, Az
(just south of Thomas off 44th St)
Fee:  $500. 
All materials are provided:  clay, tools, glazing and firing. 

Bring an apron, lunch, and an open mind.
Some clay experience is required

Registration is required as space is limited to 12 participants. Click here to register

Day One:   Xiaoping will demonstrate techniques for making relief sculptures using ancient techniques developed in Yixing, China for making teapots.  Participants will make several relief sculptures throughout the day to develop the skills and receive feedback.

Day Two:  Xiaoping will demonstrate how to create free-standing figurative sculptures using slabs of clay (no armatures).  Participants will create one to two-free standing figurative sculptures to develop the techniques demonstrated by Xiaoping.  We will be working from photographs.

Day Three:  Xiaoping will demonstrate his glazing techniques.  The remainder of the day will be for refinement, one-on-one instruction, critique/feedback and questions.

Optional Half Day:  After the pieces are bisque fired, you are welcome to glaze them at FireSongPaperWish or  you can pick them up and finish them at home.  There is no additional fee for this.

About Luo Xiaoping :

Xiaoping Luo’s (born 1960 – present), roots are in the ancient pottery tradition of the Yixing region of China. It is his sculpture, however, that has defined his work for much of his 40 year career which has won him many domestic and international art awards.

Born in Jinangxi, China in 1960, Luo Xiaoping studied sculpture at Jingdezhen Ceramic College, Jingdezhen, China, earning a B.F.A. degree. Following graduation he began teaching at Tongji University, Shanghai, China, continuing with his own sculptural work as well. After five years, he resigned from the university to pursue his ceramics career full time, setting up his Xiaoping Studio in Yixing, China, an area of China famous for ceramic art and in particular for the ancient tradition of Yixing teapots made of the local clay. In school Xiaoping had studied Western art forms, but once he settled in Yixing, he turned to the traditions of Chinese culture and religion for his inspiration, producing a body of Taoist-inspired ceramic sculpture fashioned from the Yixing “Red Jade” stoneware. 

He began using slabs to create his sculptures and concentrate on the spirit of the figure rather than classic proportional representation.  He has honed skills to work in harmony with the clay instead of trying to dominate it. This collaboration between hand and clay results in a body of work that is fresh, contemplative, and beautiful.

By the mid-1990s Xiaoping received national recognition and awards.  In the late 1990s he was appointed Deputy Secretary General of the Sculpture Professional Committee of the National Arts and Crafts Society of China and also founded and was named President of the Yixing Ceramics Art Association. International attention followed; he chaired international exhibitions, bringing his work to the attention of the larger art world and introducing him to other artists and cultures. 

As Xiaoping began spending more time outside China, he moved away from the classical traditions and was drawn to explore new directions with his art. By 2000 he was splitting his time between China and the western world, ultimately settling in Gilbert, AZ, with his wife Junya Shao, a ceramic artist noted for her exquisite Yixing teapots. Today he divides his time between Arizona and Shanghai, working as a studio artist and giving workshops and classes.

This will be the first time in over 10 years he has taught in the US.
Space is limited.  Click here to register.

Xiaoping CV