MASHIKO EARTHQUAKE APPEAL

by | Mar 18, 2011 | Uncategorized

via www.studiopottery.co.uk

The trustees and staff of the Leach Pottery would like to express our great sadness at the recent catastrophe that has beset Japan. The Leach Pottery’s historic and current links to Japan are of great importance to us and the friendship we have received from the Japanese people over the years has been unwavering.

In 2008 the people of Mashiko pottery village and the Mingei Association collectively donated over £40,000 towards rebuilding the Leach Pottery.
We are launching an appeal now to raise funds for Mashiko which has been badly hit by the earthquake. Mashiko has over 400 studios and kilns, providing the main livelihood of the village, and the recent quake has caused considerable damage to kilns, homes and buildings. Mashiko’s two main museums, the Mashiko Ceramics Museum and the Hamada Reference Museum have also been badly hit. To donate to this appeal visit the Leach Pottery website
Link to the Leach Pottery, St.Ives website for appeal information and how to donate. http://www.leachpottery.com/What-s-On/News-Feed.aspx

Handmade for Japan: eBay auction March 18-20 to help the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami

by | Mar 14, 2011 | Uncategorized


Mission:
Handmade For Japan’s mission is to raise money through an online auction on March 18-20 for relief efforts to assist the victims of Japan’s catastrophic earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear emissions.

Handmade for Japan is an online auction of unique, handmade art donated by concerned, invited artists. One hundred percent of all net proceeds collected via the auction will be donated to the relief efforts in Japan.

Because of the urgency of the situation, the auction will begin on eBay on Friday, March 18th and end on Sunday, March 20th. The auction items will be listed under the “Handmade for Japan” seller ID.

Previews of the auction items will be available in English and Japanese through Facebook pages and Twitter updates. All inquiries in either language should be sent to [email protected].

Who We Are:
Handmade For Japan was borne out of concern for Japan’s residents by Japanese-American ceramic artist Ayumi Horie. She, Ai Kanazawa Cheung, and Kathryn Pombriant Manzella have mobilized to solicit, promote, and auction handmade pieces of art generously donated by talented artists throughout North America and Japan.

An art vacation

by | Mar 12, 2011 | Uncategorized


Yesturday I had the pleasure of giving a talk at the University of Saskatchewan about my art and practice and the yucky business/marketing stuff that one has to do as an artist. Hopefully I didn’t scare any of the fourth year students. I tried not to get too much into the nitty gritty of all that being an artist encompasses.

It was great fun to chat with some of the audience after, meet a few people super eager to see change and action in the local crafts community, so that’s always a treat. My youthful rebellion against the man and the system still alive and well. (will it ever fade?) And so I return to my studio today inspired again by the community around me.

But a question has been lingering in my mind and tumbling over and over again…I can’t seem to shake it. Someone asked me whether I ever took an art vacation. At first I thought well of course, where ever I travel I try to make seeing local art a priority. But no, she meant a vacation away from art. Hmmm. I answered no. Does that mean I’m some sort of obsessed workaholic? I started to wonder if my priorities were getting skewed. Was I falling prey to that obsessive behavior associated with people who neglected their families and avoided real life for their work? Yeah you don’t have to tell me, I know I over analyze everything and tend to get a bit anxious about things.

So I’ve come to the conclusion that art really just is a different kind of job than most. Which is why sometimes we have such a difficult time explaining to others (non-artists) what exactly our jobs entail. And to me the nature of making work that is based on the human condition and my interaction with the world and topics of contemporary concern or commentary; in the end means that I’m always “on” as an artist. I’m always thinking, digesting, working through a problem. And that’s not just in relation to my sculptural work. My functional line is always on my brain as well. I’m forever searching for inspiration, challenges, new techniques, styles, aesthetics to try and work through.

I guess what it comes down to is that yes I do work ALL the time. No I don’t take a vacation from my art. But why I don’t is because I have a great job, one that is such an integral part of who I am and how I interact with the world that to have a vacation from art would be akin to having a vacation from my right arm. I live and breath my work. I’m obsessed with my work. It is an expression of who I am, so yes, we’re attached at the hip wherever I go. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I think it says alot about the joy and reward of being an artist. We are doing what we truly love, so far as that it doesn’t feel like a job most days because it’s pretty fun. And for those that don’t get how I can’t separate my life and work, well, maybe it’s because you haven’t found a job as rewarding as I have. Art is a calling I guess.

But now if only I could convince those people to also understand that just because I love my job so much more than they do, it doesn’t mean that I should be doing it for free.

Another great loss – Toshiko Takaezu

by | Mar 10, 2011 | Uncategorized


Following text via Frank Lloyd Gallery

Toshiko Takaezu (b. 1929), born in Hawaii of Japanese descent, has been working in clay for over forty years.Her work has developed steadily throughout her career as she has moved from producing functional vessels to abstract sculptural forms.Over the years she has continued to draw on a combination of Eastern and Western techniques and aesthetics, as well as her love of the natural world.For Takaezu, the practice of building vessels in clay is intimately linked to everyday life:

“In my life I see no difference between making pots, cooking, and growing vegetables.They are all so related.However there is a need for me to work in clay.It is so gratifying and I get so much joy from it, and it gives me many answers in my life.”

Throughout her career, Takaezu has explored a select repertoire of forms, often focusing on the vertical closed vessel that has become a symbol of her work.While her earlier pieces were almost exclusively wheel-thrown, as she began envisioning larger forms she incorporated hand building techniques as well, which allowed her to grow her vessels vertically and eased the circular restrictions of the wheel.The simple, cohesive structures she is now well known for are united by their common form but gain individual character through the painterly aspects of their surface decoration. Takaezu’s spontaneous approach to glazing, in which she walks around the vessel freely applying glaze through pouring and painting, balances her more methodical building process and allows her to add an improvisational element to her work.

Another important aspect of Takaezu’s involvement in clay has been her roll as a teacher.Her love for clay is infectious, and she has shared it in many forms.In addition to her 23 years of teaching at Princeton and the many workshops she has performed, she has given her time to generations of apprentices.The many awards and honors she has received, from the Hawaii Living Treasure Award to her honorary doctorate degree from the University of Princeton, demonstrate the wide range of people and institutions that find inspiration, history, and meaning in her work and life.

For more info and to purchase a book about this amazing woman please visit The Earth in Bloom