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WHERE CLAY AND CURIOSITY COMBINE.
Curious Matter is a contemporary ceramic art course with Juz Kitson.
Enrolment closes 19 October | Places are limited
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Pinch, coil, roll and press your way to a contemporary ceramic art practice.
Curious how far you can push clay?
Maybe you've never touched it before. Or maybe you've already spent years with it – at the wheel, in a studio, making beautiful, functional work – and something in you is ready to push further.
You might think ceramics means a single clay, a wheel, a kiln, and a fragile finished piece that lives on a shelf.
But it can be so much more, if you're willing to experiment, bend rules, and play.
This is clay, but not as you know it.
I want you to start looking at things differently. To not be afraid to experiment, and push the material in ways you’re not supposed to.
– JUZ KITSON
You’re going to love this course.
Juz Kitson has spent eighteen years building a porcelain-centred sculpture and installation practice, and is now represented by some of Australia’s leading galleries.
In 2009, David Walsh – before MONA existed – bought her complete graduate body of work. It became her first sale, now in MONA's collection. A decade in Jingdezhen, China's ancient porcelain city, followed, including a residency gilding resin-cast skeletons alongside thirty-five women who didn't speak a word of English, working under artist Lin Tianmiao.
Juz now works from The Art House Milton, NSW, where she lives with her husband and young son.
I feel like clay, and in particular working with porcelain, gives me a sense of belonging.
- JUZ KITSON
There’s magic in clay when it isn't forced.
Learn the skills to uncover a new world of ceramic art
Hand-build, experiment with - and even combine - porcelain, raku, and black clay, no wheel required.
Coil a large, richly encapsulated vessel and create relief tiles for the wall, shelf or plinth.
Discover and demystify how porcelain is a material you can work with, not a material to be precious about.
Decide what gets fired, and what can be left to dry, or even installed in the landscape.
Learn to install, but also look at your work, and reflect on how it works in a space.
Connect with a worldwide community of artists and share your work in a curated online exhibition.
Enrolment closes 19 October Places are limited
I’m grateful that artists like Juz Kitson are so generous to share their skills and techniques with other potters and artists, and yet she remains such a humble, lovely person even with all the kudos and acclaim earned as an artist.
It was the best workshop I've been to. It was well planned, well resourced and well delivered. We all produced art that was at more than beginner level. Amazing instruction and highly inspirational.
There was such a spirit of generosity that made it a valuable learning experience. I have learnt techniques and approaches that I will now translate into my own visual language and arts practice.
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Module one – Arrival to the material
In this module you will get to know the clay bodies you will be working with throughout the rest of the course whilst building your personal reference library of test pieces made through play and experimentation.
In this module, you'll:
- Compare porcelain, raku, black clay, and black porcelain side by side, through touch alone.
- Build a simple slab and set up a safe, functional workspace from the ground up.
- Make a set of textural relief test tiles, as a lasting reference or even finished artworks!
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Module two – The Porcelain Queen
Get ready to fall in love with porcelain! Nature provides the starting inspiration for your first resolved sculpture, built entirely from hand-formed porcelain.
Along the way, you'll:
- Learn Juz’s techniques for building an internal armature.
- Cover the armature completely in hand-formed porcelain elements, layer by layer.
- Develop a surface language through layering and repetition, inspired by natural forms.
- Learn Juz’s techniques for building an internal armature.
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Module three – Raku and black clay
This module shifts into new material territory, inviting you to work with raku and black clay. Through experimentation with a variety of tools, you’ll discover new ways to build texture adding to your surface vocabulary.
Through this module, you'll:- Carve, pierce, and score using both traditional tools and everyday household objects.
- Experiment with extrusion techniques to build contrast and depth across a surface.
- Marble porcelain into black clay.
- Learn Juz’s underglazing secret for building a family of connected raku and black porcelain forms.
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Module four – Glazing
Your first three modules of experiments come together here, into a connected series ready to glaze and fire.
You'll explore how to:
- Apply glaze with both a brush and spray gun.
- Apply gold lustre as a selective accent, never a blanket finish.
- Glaze with restraint, to preserve delicate detail.
- “Draw” with porcelain and use glaze as glue.
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Module five – Working ephemerally
Clay leaves the studio entirely in this module, out into a site you choose yourself, to build something that was never meant to last.
Across this module, you'll:
- Scout and read a location the way a site-responsive artist would.
- Work raw, unfired clay directly on site, responding to what's already there.
- Document an ephemeral installation as the finished work, rather than the object itself.
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Module six – Making a vessel
Back in the studio, you'll learn Juz's own coil-building method to construct a freestanding vessel form.
By the end of this module, you'll:
- Roll and build structurally sound coils, from a practice tower through to a finished form.
- Decorate your piece with your chosen relief elements creating formations of clusters and rhythm.
- Add porcelain slip to your raku body to give the impression its made of porcelain itself.
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Module seven – Presenting your finished work
This is where everything you've made comes together into one considered installation – and the plinth becomes optional.
This module shows you how to:- Lay out your finished pieces as a constellation and map it onto a placement template, ready for the wall.
- Explore mixed media like wool, soft fibres and reclaimed pelts, with a glimpse into how Juz mounts her large-scale installations.
- Move beyond the plinth with handmade tiles as a display base, and mount and frame single pieces.
- Lay out your finished pieces as a constellation and map it onto a placement template, ready for the wall.
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Bonus – Firing guide
This bonus module is designed with the beginner ceramicists in mind and will help you understand the basics of firing.
This bonus module covers:- Kiln access.
- Essentials to take into account before firing.
- Bisque firing and preparing your bisqueware for glazing.
- Understand glaze firing ranges, especially when combining clay bodies.
- A firing range tool to help you get the temperature right.
Join Juz in the student community for personal feedback and direction, 19 October – 14 December 2026.
You’ll be supported every step of the way with:
Direct interaction with Juz for up to 8 weeks.
9 hours of professionally filmed lessons showing real details, not just the steps.
Lifetime access for unlimited learning
Worldwide community of artists.
Your questions answered via two live Q&As.
Comprehensive workbooks to reinforce your learning.
… plus return to the community and resources time and time again to extend your learning.
Curious Matter
Lifetime access to all course materials
Learn Juz Kitson’s ceramics techniques
with 8 weeks of direct tutor feedback
Only available once per year
Enrolment closes 19 October | Places are limited
Our promise of excellence
We take great pride in our commitment to excellence. Our productions are professionally crafted to the highest standards, and our professional tutors share decades of knowledge with generosity and care.
To protect their IP and your investment, our money-back guarantee offers a full refund if you’ve watched less than 10% of the course within seven days and are not satisfied. See our terms for details.
Our friendly team is here to support you before, during and after your course. Reach out anytime at support@taketwoartcoures.com – we’re always happy to help.
Curious Matter is perfect for those looking to…
- Let go of the rules and push a clay in new and exciting ways.
- Fall in love with the plasticity of porcelain.
- Try hand-building ceramics for the first time in a creative and encouraging setting.
- Work with process over precision, and not mind if a piece never makes it to the kiln.
- Push their existing ceramic practice into new conceptual and material territory.
- Expand on a creative practice in another medium; and consider
clay as a prospective new medium.
Curious Matter is probably not right if you're…
- Looking for a traditional wheel-throwing or pottery course.
- Hoping to make purely functional pottery, like mugs and bowls for everyday use – the focus here is sculptural and conceptual.
- Looking for a quick weekend craft rather than a slower, process-based practice across seven modules.
Have another question? We’re here to help! Please contact the Take Two team at support@taketwoart.com
Course-specific FAQs
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Do I need a pottery wheel for this course?
No wheel is used anywhere in Curious Matter. Every piece – from your first test tile to your final installation – is built entirely by hand, using porcelain, raku, and black clay.
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Do I need access to a kiln for this course?
Access to a kiln is not a requirement to be able to make work in this course.
Within the private student community group we will be encouraging students to share services and providers they find.
A note from Juz...
This course really gets you looking at and thinking about the process.
It's not always about permanence. We don't always have to put pieces through the kiln. Potentially, they could become ephemeral installations, or just be a learning experience where you learn about the material and push it in new directions, and even build as big as you can.
So, don't be worried if you don't have access to a kiln. You can create ephemeral installations and works. They don't have to be finished and fired. It's not only going to feed your creative process, but entice and excite you and get you thinking about so many different things.
Ceramics really is endless.
If you do really want to fire your works, most people should be able to find a community kiln in their area where you can take your pieces. -
I've never worked with clay before – will I be able to keep up?
Yes. Module One exists specifically to build your relationship with the material from nothing – comparing porcelain, raku, and black clay side by side, through touch alone, before any resolved making begins. Juz teaches by demonstrating a technique first, then letting you imitate and adapt it in your own way, so there's a genuine starting point even at zero experience.
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I'm an experienced ceramicist – will this still challenge me?
Likely yes, and not in the way you'd expect. Juz's own approach came from deliberately learning the traditional rules of ceramics first, specifically so she could break them.
If you already know the rules, this is your permission to push past them – multiple clay bodies worked against each other, ephemeral installation, work that was never meant to be fired – territory most technical training doesn't go near.
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Can I fire my work at a community kiln?
Yes – and Juz makes sure your pieces are ready for it. She shows you how to slow dry your work, add air holes where they're needed and check that each piece is truly bone dry. You'll also learn exactly what to tell your kiln technician, from firing temperature to clay type, so you can hand your work over with confidence.
And not everything you make needs a kiln at all. Part of what you're taught is how to make work that was never meant to be fired – ephemeral pieces built to be left in a landscape.
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Can I bring my existing practice – fibre, painting, mixed media –into this work?
Yes, and it's encouraged. Wool, fibre and found materials all find their way into the work across the course, especially in the final installation module. Juz has never worked in just one material, and this course doesn't ask you to either.
Course Logistics FAQs
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How much does it cost to enrol?
Enrolment in Curious Matter is:
AUD $599
USD $449
GBP £329
EUR €384
NZD $729
CAD $599
Payment plans of 2 or 5 months are available at checkout – no need to email us, just select your preferred option when you enrol.
A note on value: this is a course students describe going back to again and again. Lauren said she finds herself returning to the modules "over and over" and that lifetime access "is not a bonus – it is a necessity. You're not paying for eight weeks. You're paying for a resource that will keep working for you for years."
If you're a beginner wondering whether you're ready – you are. This course was designed to meet you exactly where you are. -
What materials and supplies are required for this course?
The materials guideline can be downloaded here. A complete list will be provided to enrolled students.
We encourage you to use what you already have first – you don't need to buy everything at once.If the combined cost of course and materials is a concern, the payment plan option at checkout may help spread the overall investment. Any specific questions before you enrol? Reach us at support@taketwoart.com.
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When does enrolment close?
Enrolment closes on 19 October 2026.
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Do I have to watch the videos at a set time or follow a schedule?
There is no fixed schedule, no live sessions you have to show up for. But there are two live Q&A sessions during your tutor’s
live interaction period:-
29 October 8pm AEST
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26 November 8am AEST
both of which will be available for replay.
The course was built for people with full lives – you watch when you want, pause when you need to, and return to a module three times if that's what it takes.
As Wendy put it: The freedom to take your time and disappear down your own rabbit hole is such a joy. -
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How does interacting with your tutor actually work?
Between 19 October and 14 December 2026 Juz is available in the private student community group on Facebook. This isn't a cursory presence – students consistently describe her feedback as detailed, personal, and genuinely engaged with their individual work.
There are also two live Q&A sessions where you can submit questions in advance:-
Live Q&A #1: 29 October 8pm AEST
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Live Q&A #2: 26 November 8am AEST
These are streamed via YouTube and later uploaded into the course portal so you can watch even if you can't join live.
After 9 November, your tutor steps back from the group – but the community stays open, and you have all the course content for life. -
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Do you offer closed captions?
Yes we do. We offer closed captions in English, Spanish, German and French.
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I’m not very tech-savvy. Will I be able to manage an online course?
Yes. Our students regularly report – with visible relief – how straightforward the platform is to use. If you can watch a video on your phone or computer, you can do this.
And if anything doesn't work as expected, we're easy to reach. We're well known for our customer support – just email support@taketwoart.com and a real person will help you -
What currencies do you accept?
We've set up geolocation to display your local currency where possible and currently accept AUD, USD, GBP, EUR, CAD and NZD. If yours isn't listed, your bank will convert the charge automatically – you won't be blocked from enrolling.
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Can I take this course on my phone or tablet?
Absolutely. The course is fully responsive and works across laptop, tablet, and phone. Switch between devices freely – all you need is an internet connection.
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What if I need support during my course?
Post in the student community group and someone will respond – whether that's your tutor during the live interaction period, a Take Two team member, or a fellow student. The group is active and genuinely supportive.
For technical questions, or if you'd prefer not to use the Facebook group, email support@taketwoart.com directly.
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Can I gift this course to someone?
Yes – and it's a beautiful gift. Email us at support@taketwoart.com with the details and we'll create a personalised digital voucher for you.
A note from Juz
I don't see myself as a teacher – I see myself as a guide. Someone who creates a safe space for you to explore, to experiment, to make mistakes, because that's where the alchemy lies. I've poured fifteen years of trial and error into this course. I just want you to fall in love with porcelain the way I have.
- JUZ KITSON
Watch Juz's past Friday Feature Artist episode
We'll be interviewing Juz again on 8 October 2026 – join us here.
Ready to see how curiosity forms clay in your own hands?
Curious Matter is a ceramic art course taught by Juz Kitson, an Australian artist working in contemporary ceramics.
Enrolment closes 19 Oct Places are limited

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