Hamada exhibition

by | Nov 8, 2011 | Uncategorized

Hamada
A Pottery Lineage
Edwards Art Gallery
Holderness School
1879 Chapel Lane, Plymouth, N.H.

On Exhibit November 3 – December 10, 2011

Open: Mon. – Fri. 9am-5pm Sat 9am – 12p,
Closed November 21-28

In association with Pucker gallery
171 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116

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

Visiting Artists Workshop: The Elusive Tea Bowl–Office for the Arts at Harvard

by | Jan 29, 2011 | Uncategorized

harvard-edu March 14, 2011, Monday 10 am – 4 pm Japanese master artists, Tsujimura Shiro and Suzuki Goro along with American artists Richard Milgrim and Jeff Shapiro, will demonstrate throwing the teabowl while discussing its aesthetic and philosophical relevance to the tea ceremony. This event is one feature of a weekend of events celebrating the tea bowl (March 12 – 14th) in conjunction with the Museum of Fine Arts, Japan Society – Boston and the Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA. About the Weekend: Historically, the tea bowl has been a symbol for the aesthetic that pervades the tea ceremony within Eastern culture exhibiting unpretentious beauty, humility and dignity within this simple ceramic form. Since the appreciation of the world of tea has grown and the number of American ceramicists making tea bowls has increased, this comprehensive series of events address the role of the tea bowl as both a ceremonial vessel and three-dimensional art form in the wake of the artistic exchange between East and West. The weekend begins with an exhibition of tea bowls at the Lacoste Gallery on Saturday, March 12th featuring 12 Japanese artists and 14 American artists. On Sunday, March 13th, the Museum of Fine Arts will invite international scholars and artists to discuss the history and philosophy of tea and utensils and their place within contemporary society, addressing specifically the aesthetic translation of Japanese sensibilities by American ceramicists. The weekend will conclude at the Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard with a day of demonstrations and lectures by two Japanese master artists, Tsujimura Shiro and Suzuki Goro, joined by American ceramic artist Richard Milgrim and event organizer and American ceramic artist Jeff Shapiro. Participants will engage first hand in viewing the tea bowls being created on the wheel or carved by hand, while hearing each artist discuss the influences and progression of their own artwork. Fees: Free for Harvard Undergraduates and Graduate students, $45 for first time general public, $35 for all others. Click here for more information on this workshop.
VIA Vicki Hardin @ Clay Art Web Guide