POTTERY · LEARNING · COMMUNITY
Let’s clay
together.
A future place to explore pottery, share knowledge, and connect through making. Creative Clay Center is taking shape in Oxford, Massachusetts.
Discover the visionFounded by Sumiyo Toribe
With master potter Hiroshi Nakayama
OUR VISION
Make with your hands.
Connect through clay.
We envision a welcoming place where people of different ages and backgrounds can explore pottery, share ideas, and learn from one another.
Rooted in a love of ceramics, the center’s vision brings together artistic exploration, the sharing of skills, and cultural exchange. It is a future community centered on the experience of making.
Founder Sumiyo Toribe and master potter Hiroshi Nakayama bring their Japanese cultural backgrounds to the center’s vision. We hope to share Japanese culture through pottery and connection, while welcoming people of all backgrounds.
A PLACE IN THE MAKING
Room for
possibility.
Oxford, Massachusetts
The original idea for Creative Clay Center was to renovate the historic barn at its planned future home.
Plans are still evolving. A new building may come first, with barn renovation later. The building sequence and construction timing have not been decided.
The center is not open. An opening date, classes, memberships, and program schedules have not been announced.
MEET THE FOUNDER
Sumiyo Toribe
Founder of Creative Clay Center
Born in Kyoto, Japan, Sumiyo Toribe is a fine artist whose primary medium is watercolor. She holds an MFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Since 2015, she has studied ceramics with master ceramic artist Hiroshi Nakayama. Making and selling work at art fairs, and meeting fellow artists and art enthusiasts, helped inspire her vision for Creative Clay Center.
Her vision for the center is a welcoming place where people can learn, make, and connect through clay.
Visit Sumiyo Toribe’s website
MASTER POTTER
Hiroshi Nakayama
A life in clay.
Knowledge to share.
Hiroshi Nakayama began learning pottery in Humahuaca, Argentina, and developed his practice in studios across South America before working as a studio potter in New York and Massachusetts.
His work reflects a Japanese appreciation for understated beauty, simplicity, and nature. His ceramics are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.
Sumiyo has studied ceramics with Hiroshi since 2015. At the future Creative Clay Center, he is expected to mentor apprentices, pass on skills and knowledge, and help the artistic community grow.
His participation is part of the center’s development plans. Teaching schedules and programs will be announced as plans take shape.
Visit Hiroshi Nakayama’s website