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As I feel

Water under the bridge. Winter & Spring 2006
This year started waith the usual trip to India but this time with a major difference. I met Emilia Guimerans and Miguel Vazquez, Spanish potters from Spain and organizers of Namaste India 2006. The II Encuentro Internacional de Ceramica a Nigran, in Pontevedra, Spain. Visits were made to the invited artists in Delhi-Dadi Pudumjee, Naveen Kumar, Daroz, Priya Sen, Madhur Sen and then a gruelling trip to Tamil Nadu to meet Palaniappan. New Year`s Eve was spent on the train with a bottle of whisky! Returning to Japan I was met with the coldest winter since I have been here with heavy snowfalls and freezing temperatures. Still work had to be done and the installing of a wood stove known in Japanese as "Daruma" made all the difference. A workshop at The International School of The Sacred Heart on "Differing Approaches to Design" organized by Steve Tootell and with an international group of potters not only make me focus on my studio work but also forced me to structure what I have been doing since I took up pottery (or should it be pottering!) I labelled the new approach as "Surface Eutectics" and talked about a paradigm shift in approaches. The workshop really put the wind in my sails. An exhibition in Gallery Kirin in Shigaraki in March, which was more a retrospective seeing we had to club together pieces in order to put a show together. Meeting local Shigaraki potters made all the difference. This overlapped with a show at Galley Tohka in Shizuoka which saw a major shift in the type of work sold. Tableware is defintely going through a bad time and what sells in say Aichi does not go down in Shizuoka!!! (and visa versa). April saw the 11th in the Series of Clay Monographs "Wrauku your Brains" with the participation of Israeli painter Edith Rosenfeld, Raku Master Genya Sonobe and three Tea Ceremony Teachers from the Urasenke School of The Japanese Tea Ceremony. Asahi-sensei, Yamamoto-sensei and Chiba-sensei. Local potters from Yokkaichi also participated so to the visit of pformer Nako-yaki members. Pak/UK potter Halima Cassell then visited so all in all time was quite hectic. Since then I have been able to concentrate on my own personal work and to develop my "CombinArt Series". One piece has been accepted for the CERCO International Ceramics Competition in Zaragoza, Spain. Now it is a question of preparing for next exhibition in Nagoya. Also working on three broad fronts-experimental raku pieces with an open body, wood fired Spanish Lustres and reduction fired stoneware. Bountiful Nature has provided me with enough magnolia petals to test out ash glazes based on petals only.

Good Earth.
......is the name of the studio of Perrin & Ralli Jacob in Dhokovade, Alibag across the bay from Mumbai. I was priveleged to spend an idyllic three weeks there in Febuary this year. Their hospitality and kindness was immense and evenings over some feni or bacardi was filled with thought provoking discussions and anecdotes. Apart from spending the time with them and the staff at Good Earth (and the animals-Langradin, Nelson Mandela and a cock who was so raucous his screech still rings in my years-the hornbills-Wow!) I spent the time making pieces for the show at Cymroza. We also held a workshop that covered experimental firings, Raku, Spanish Lustres, Terra Sigillata and Egyptian Paste. Several firings were done and the atendees were mostly from Bombay. It was a great experience and we shared some great times together. I hope it will not be the last. However, this was only one part of my three months sojourn in India. I was also in Delhi where I did a workshop at Sanskriti Kendra organized by Delhi Blue and at Khurja where I worked at Chattwall Ceramics and did a demonstration at The Central Ceramic Glass & Research Institute. India is an emotional experience and it was good to be part of all the things happening there. More information can be found on my own website. So coming back to Japan has been like having a cold shower. Things are tighter and that human feeling everywhere in India is tightly locked behind cups of sake. It is no secret that Japanese ceramics is going through a crisis and a very deep and structural one no doubt as a result of the prolonged economic crisis. But more than this a certain openess has got to happen if Japanaese ceramics is not to fall behind. I am not so confident of this haappening as my thoughts and ideas continue to find very little echo or none with the potting world in Japan. Still, there are one or two and as they say the greatest journey starts with the first step.

Building the shop.

I have always felt that a direct relationship with my customers to be of a great advantage and of mutual benefit. Certainly I got first-hand experience of this when I had my studio on the "Sanponmichi" a stone`s throw from the Noborigama no Hiroba, in Tokoname from 1996-2000. My customers told me what they wanted and what sold told me which designs were successful. Happy and satisfied customers came back time and again and so a long lasting relationship developed. I could also help out if some accident took place and the piece needed repairing etc. However since moving to the hills in 2000 this source has all but evaporated and we have had to rely on shops and galleries for sales. They do play a very useful and important role but it isn`t the same. So, as more and more people get to know us and visitors have begun to be a constant stream we decided to open a shop to display our work. When we decide on the opening I will update with details.

Wood firing the Cat Arch.
On the 29th-30th May we fired the Cat-Arch. The firing lasted 36 hours and this piece is an example of what we obtained. My ideas are very clear on the matter. The kiln is designed for salt and not ash effects even though wood fired. We take the kiln up to temperature and then salt. The result is what the kiln has given us and of the work we put in together with experience from previous
firings. Nothing else.


The other thing I did was to fire some pieces in a sagger. These pieces had a Copper Matt glaze applied to them. I placed them in a sagger surrounded with charcoal. It was experimental and used to take advantage of the differeing atmospheric conditions and temperatures always present in a wood fired kiln.

FIREBRAND
VII Clay Monograph Series
What a weekend for me! What neat people and what an atmosphere. Potters from Canada, the US, Japan and those who participated out of interest like Khan-bhai originally from Kenya but from the UK. ! Amonsgt us we discovered we spoke ten different languages. The workshop started off with decorating pieces for the bottle kiln. Alkaline Frit based glazes and a Lead Bisilicate Green were used. I don`t particularly like the frothy effect you get with the frit and woodfire but  that didn`t put people off. We also prepared pieces with "sig" and metallic salts for the Paper Kiln. Soon after we had the bottle kiln built and firing away. Eddie Peters soon took to the firing like a duck to water and was showing how temperature could be increased with the type of wood used, stoking technique, manipulation of draught and the conditions of the combustible used. Joe Wiseman took charge of the Paper Kiln and had us all swamped in smoke-mainly due to the strong winds. In the meantime the "anagama" was built and started with an oil burner. Canadian potters Nycole and Miriam ably asisted and helped out considerably. So too Japanese potters Kimura-san and Orie-san and US potter Tom now resident in Shigaraki. We finished off the bottle kiln after five and a half hours reaching 980 and  after that the anagama which had soda, salt and "nuca" thrwon in at around 1180. The anagama was built around the classic stepped pattern. This actually prevented heat from spreading throughout the kiln and so only the front part got up to temperature. A level construction would have worked better. Still we got some nice results from the "nuca" and salt.
We then all headed off to the "onsen" for a well deserved dip. UK potter Cath Tajima Powell now living in Tokyo joined us with a load of goodies especially the camembert with Branston pickle and the Bombay Gin!!!! In the evening Minamikawa-san and his wife gave us a slide show of their experiences in Africa and also a video about potters in Onta. The evening finished with alot of banter and  the consumption of various types of beverages. The next day saw the firing of "The Wall" which had a firework inserted among the wood and coal and to no one`s surprise went off with a bang. The day finished with a Raku Firing where we experimented with different reduction techniques. All in all a very positive experience and with a bit more time even greater results can be achieved. Can`t wait for the next workshop. And a great big Thank You to Atsuko and Sugihara-san for the catering and refreshments.

What happened in Madrid just over a month ago still reverberates in me and drives me to tears. The Spanish newspaper "El Pais" from which this image is taken talked about broken lives. Some of those kids on their way to their "instituto" could have been mine and their voices went unheard. It is disgraceful that people who claim to represent us disregard so shamelessly and uterrly what anybody with an ounce of grey matter could forsee. I am distraught and I can`t take refuge from the fact tht some greater force is at work and we have to go through it all before we see sense. It is so easy for us swathed as we are  by the cherry blossoms and the sound of the running stream to forget the pain not only of those that lost loved ones in Madrid but in Basra and Bagdad. Love is all. Potters of the world ignite!

Terror in Madrid
I left Japan on the 4th March to attend the IV International Festival of Ceramic Film in Montpellier. Dodging payment of fares, (because all Bureax de change were closed) helping out a stranded theatre artitst on his way to Rome, missing flights, getting really worked up with Ryan Air who can sell you a return ticket Paris-Girona-Paris for 59 euros but if you want a one way deal just before a flight they want 200 euros and they don't accept cash only credit cards and this bizzare system is meant to benifit the consumer. My arse!. Their rules are inflexible and if you dont`t like it you can lump it! You know what you can do with Ryan bloody Air!!!! So there we were at the film festival. A magniificant setting is the Corum and Ateliers d`Art did a magnificant job. Montpellier is a great city and we can take a leaf out of their book when it comes to organizing public transport in a city. NO CARS IN THE CENTRE! Only cheap and efficient public transport!!!! If the Yankees don`t want to help Al Qaida all they have to do is to stop driving cars and pumping gas because that is where their money goes! So "L`Arbre de Voyager" a film about the Fire Trees by Gerard Le Kraz won the "Prix d`Argille" A well deserved award though the Grand Prix went to three people prancing about stark bollock naked covered in clay. It wasn`t even erotic though very French! This business about travelling about-spending a night or two in one place is very disconcerting. You wake up in the morning-in a dream- and wonder where the hell you are. This was my route. Komono-Osaka-Paris-Beauvais-Figueres-Barcelona-Figueres-Montpellier-Paris-Praha-Plzen-Marianske Lazny-Karlovy Vary-Praha-Paris-Kuala Lumpur-Osaka-Komono.
It was good to meet old friends and maintain our links and as old Uncle Bernie used to say "Potters of the World Ignite!!! Yeah!
Chet Baker. The Van Gogh of Jazz!

End of The Winter- Sakura here I come.
Freezing the balls off a brass monkey.
Thank you Garry Firth for the origin of this phrase. The biting cold weather has made potting impossible despite our best efforts. A large loss due to pots becoming frozen did do alot to dampen enthusiasm. Still, the time spent musing over things and thinking over things allows one a certain degree of freedom to revamp, look critically at what one is upto or just do bugger all and sit back and enjoy.
Planning for future projects- "Close to Me" which will see a group of Japanese artists in Galicia doing a workshop covering ceramics, ikebana, shodo and raku. Also a forthcoming workshop called "Firebrand" Not to be missed! April 24th-25th and the IVth International Festival of Films on Ceramics in Montpellier, France-organized by Ateliers d`Art de France-March 12th-15th.

Reflections on Raku

It will soon be almost a month since the Summit which has allowed me time to reflect back and think about what we did at the Shinano Tojiki Centre.
It was great success that is sure so much so that we are planning another. It was very exciting to see how the Japanese approached their way of doing Raku and certainly we can only feel enriched by the whole experience.
One thing that surprised me was the way a more robust and demanding standard was expected from the ware. From a Western perspective we are happy to stand back and enjoy the results because we know that pieces are decorative whilst the Japanese want to use them. So pieces are scrubbed with abrasive.
It was heartbreaking to see my beautiful lutres disappear under such treatment! Still what was revealed  under was quite a delight ! From a Japanese perspective the more dynamic and open approach associated with Shin Raku set freee many solidified ways of doing things. It was alright to have alot of fun doing Raku!!! The raku pieces I showed at Kawarabanya Gallery also caused some confusion among some punters especially the older ones not used to associating Raku with such simple things as bowls or tiles or even vases! And why weren`t they in the region of thousands of yen in price!!!

Report about Wysing Art

From the !st June to the 12th July I did a residency at Wysing Arts in Cambridge in the UK. The residency consisted in a weekend workshop "Experimental Firings", some classes and finally the building and firing of five Fire Trees to coincide with Cambridge Open Studios.

I feel really honoured and privileged to have been part of what was a fantastic experience and Wysing is a place where truly art and creativity flourishes. www.wysingarts.org The artists there Abbas, Nicholas Juett, Jeremy Andrews, Julia, Patricia, Bob, CJ, Steve and loads of others that made the residency a very special place. Well done Wysing and well done all the artists and staff-not forgetting Andy and Terry and the gardeners and the staff Gari, Sherry and others. Bravo too to Trystan.

CLAY JAM

On the 9th-10th August at my workshop in the hills of the Odaka Highlands in the continuing series of "Clay Monographs"
we will be holding a "Clay Jam". The concept of a "jam" is a group of musicians with varying levels of virtuosity get together and create music within a framework but without having previously "rehersed".

The musicians in this case are potters and ceramic artists and the instruments they have at their disposal are the various types of kilns that they build and the different types of firings they create using different combustibles  with glazes and metallic salts. Nothing is fixed within these parameters and anybody can intervene or carry on from others. It promises to be a very exciting weekend. The artists involved are two from Galicia in Spain, Emilia Guimerans and Miguel Vazquez with Wali Hawes, Atsuko Ito, Watanabe Akira from Kasama and Tawa Seiji from Kyoto. Invited guest is American poet Reed Gage. Keep your eyes peeled for updates and images.

If you want tp participate contact us. The weekend costs \15,000 which covers materials, board and food. One day is \8,000. There will also be slide lectures and a paella
.

Nov 10th 2003
From the 4th-9th Nov at The Nagoya International Centre the 18th Foreign Artits Exhibition was held. Off hand I believe there were artists from more than 18 countries and around 60 participants. A lot of credit has to go to the tireless effort of the Organizing Committee, Jan, Jim Goater, Andy Boone and all the Vollunteer Staff . Painting, Photography, Text Art, Ceramics, Jewellery, Digital Art, Hanga, Drawings and Textile Paintings were on display. It was a good show and continues to be a major focal point for the Foreign Community in Chubu. It was a great chance to meet old friends and exchange notes over the wine and the good food provided by the sponsers.

"to Tango in Tonga in tanga" is an exhibition of ceramics at Gallery Junikagetsu in Nagoya from the 22nd-30th November. Taking the magic of sound from the juxtapositioning of these words together with the idea of movement that one associates with "tangos" the exotic nature of a tropical island and the erotic suggestiveness of the tanga are used to create abstract pieces. Wheel formed with joint work the pieces are simply decorated but in the case of the "post-biscuit" work elaborate designs are used. Tableware will also be on display with abstract motifs based on spontaneousos brush work seized in motion by the ceramic process.

"Group Show to Celebrate the 10th Anniversary" at Gallery Kyoueigam in Tokoname from the 29th November-23rd December. A great chance to see what has got to be acknowledged as the creme de la creme of Tokoname potters also a large number of foreign clay work can be seen.

A Tokoname Lexicon
Airport,Bonzai Batchi, Choza, Dokan, Enka, Friends, Gambatte, Hi (fire), IWCAT, Jiyu, Kyusu, Love, Makigama, Noborigama, Ono-Machi, Peace, Raku, Sake/Shudei, Utsuwa, Us (not US!), Wakame, (X) Dame!!, Yu-You know Younomi, Time to sleep!



Oct 22nd 2003
It is now almost three weeks since I came back to Japan. The workshop in Spain at Ramon Fort`s www.ramonfort.com, the visit to El Museo del Prado in Madrid where I was able to contemplate the masterpieces of Goya and Bosch, The International Ceramics Festival in Montblanc, (Tarragona), meeting  artists in Sngapore and sharing their world-The world of Chang Seok Tin, the youthful energy of Utterly Art, The Artists Village and Clay Workers all contributed to enhancing my world and has given me alot of fresh input to what can be a jaded existence in Japan (if you don`t look out and know how to avoid the pitfalls!) I am now busy preparing our participation in World-Art Gallery in Kyoto later to be followed by an exhibition "to TANGO in TONGA with TANGA" at Junikagetsu in Nagoya. We also have the Raku Summit and an exhibition in Seto not to mention a group show in Gallery Kyoueigama in Tokoname. A full schedule as you can see which what makes this life so enjoyable! Must get down to work!!!!

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