People want to know where I am exactly in Japan. I’m staying in the very small town of Kanayama, located just outside Goshogawara City in the northern province of Aomori. Aomori is highlighted here on the map. We are not far from the Sea of Japan, about a 30 minute drive away. Kanayama is in the countryside, and apple orchards along with rice are the major agricultural products. Everywhere you look there are apple orchards, and each apple is wrapped in a little bag for protection-- talk about labor intensive farming! Goshagawara City is minutes away by car, and about 15 minutes by bicycle. Goshagawara is not particularly charming, akin perhaps to Bakersfield, California (no offense to people on Bakersfield) and there are all the modern conveniences that you would find in any large city. But I must say that Kanayama is magical, and I am so happy to be here.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
where am I?
People want to know where I am exactly in Japan. I’m staying in the very small town of Kanayama, located just outside Goshogawara City in the northern province of Aomori. Aomori is highlighted here on the map. We are not far from the Sea of Japan, about a 30 minute drive away. Kanayama is in the countryside, and apple orchards along with rice are the major agricultural products. Everywhere you look there are apple orchards, and each apple is wrapped in a little bag for protection-- talk about labor intensive farming! Goshagawara City is minutes away by car, and about 15 minutes by bicycle. Goshagawara is not particularly charming, akin perhaps to Bakersfield, California (no offense to people on Bakersfield) and there are all the modern conveniences that you would find in any large city. But I must say that Kanayama is magical, and I am so happy to be here.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
kiln on fire
This is a picture of our first kiln firing. 
The kiln fires for a 36 hour cycle, and it must be continually stoked, which means someone has to be there at all times to feed wood to the kiln every minute or two. My stoking shift was with Madhur (of New Delhi) and Kim (of Seoul). We had a very difficult shift because we were at a point where the kiln was almost at the final firing temperature. It is so difficult to get the rhythm down of feeding the kiln at the right moment—too much wood and you pull the temperature down, too little and the same happens. We had it going for a while, then a party showed up bearing sake and we lost 20 degrees Celsius in the ensuing commotion. It took almost an hour to get back to where we were. It was a wonderful and new experience for me though. At my studio I just press a button and the kiln fires. I’ve never felt so in touch with a firing before. We’ll see on Sunday what comes out!
The kiln fires for a 36 hour cycle, and it must be continually stoked, which means someone has to be there at all times to feed wood to the kiln every minute or two. My stoking shift was with Madhur (of New Delhi) and Kim (of Seoul). We had a very difficult shift because we were at a point where the kiln was almost at the final firing temperature. It is so difficult to get the rhythm down of feeding the kiln at the right moment—too much wood and you pull the temperature down, too little and the same happens. We had it going for a while, then a party showed up bearing sake and we lost 20 degrees Celsius in the ensuing commotion. It took almost an hour to get back to where we were. It was a wonderful and new experience for me though. At my studio I just press a button and the kiln fires. I’ve never felt so in touch with a firing before. We’ll see on Sunday what comes out!
Monday, July 09, 2007
first firing
Today we loaded our first kiln. There were a lot of cooks in the kitchen as everyone participated in bringing in the work, stacking the shelves, prepping posts, making wadding… I got in there with Nick to load the last shelves, and he is a pro at tumble stacking. After the door was sealed all of us gathered for a ceremonial prayer which included pouring some sake out on the kiln, throwing some salt around, two claps all together, and then our heads lowered as we prayed to the kiln gods. We’ll be firing over the next two days with everyone working shifts throughout the day and night. This is my first wood firing ever so I am anxious to see what comes out!
Sunday, July 08, 2007
craft show
This weekend is my favorite show of the year, the Palo Alto Clay and Glass Festival in California. While my sister, Brena, ran my booth at Palo Alto, we 
were at a craft fair in Japan. As tourists and buyers, that is! There are really no differences between an American craft show and a Japanese one. There is some beautiful work, some clever and unusual design, interspersed with some serious crap. I felt right at home. I was really only interested in the pottery, and there were a lot of ceramic artists there with their work.
I was captured by several artists, and I was so aware as I picked up their work and checked it out how they must be feeling. There were a lot of people at the show, but not a lot of people carrying shoppping bags, and sales seemed a bit on the slow side.
I bought several things. Two beautiful pieces of porcelain work from a woman named Takahashi Masako. You can see
Royoji posing with the pieces here. He thought I was crazy buying pottery when I can just make it myself! Like at a craft show in America, people were saying how expensive everything was. I thought differently; I thought the prices were very reasonable. The delicate porcelain platter I bought with a beautiful and subtle decoration was only $40, and a matching cup with little pointy feet for $16. From another woman I bought what I would describe as an altar piece. It looks to me like a little fort or a hut that a tribe in a remote desert might live in. The artist who created the piece is pictured at the top. It was $20. Her business cards were all written by hand on a little piece of paper, it was a tiny work of art in itself.
were at a craft fair in Japan. As tourists and buyers, that is! There are really no differences between an American craft show and a Japanese one. There is some beautiful work, some clever and unusual design, interspersed with some serious crap. I felt right at home. I was really only interested in the pottery, and there were a lot of ceramic artists there with their work.I was captured by several artists, and I was so aware as I picked up their work and checked it out how they must be feeling. There were a lot of people at the show, but not a lot of people carrying shoppping bags, and sales seemed a bit on the slow side.
I bought several things. Two beautiful pieces of porcelain work from a woman named Takahashi Masako. You can see
Royoji posing with the pieces here. He thought I was crazy buying pottery when I can just make it myself! Like at a craft show in America, people were saying how expensive everything was. I thought differently; I thought the prices were very reasonable. The delicate porcelain platter I bought with a beautiful and subtle decoration was only $40, and a matching cup with little pointy feet for $16. From another woman I bought what I would describe as an altar piece. It looks to me like a little fort or a hut that a tribe in a remote desert might live in. The artist who created the piece is pictured at the top. It was $20. Her business cards were all written by hand on a little piece of paper, it was a tiny work of art in itself.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
one minute
Our wonderful host, Riyoji, is a master potter. Late at night, after he is done running his small empire and making sure the needs of all his guest artists are met, he throws pots. Tonight myself and a few other resident artists were privileged to watch him throw plates while he also answered our questions with humor and good nature. His studio is always filled with laughter, and intense concentration. Riyoji threw each platter in one minute. My camera could barely keep up.
Friday, July 06, 2007
first days
I am living in unimaginable luxury here at Rioji Matsumiya studio/compound with some of the most amazing artists I have ever met. I will post more later about the setup here, but I’ll j
ust share with you now what I have been doing. The first few days… not much. The jetlag was difficult and my brain was not fully operational. I was also coming down off all the stress from the last orders I shipped before leaving the States. I finally made a vase, a very typical vase for me, the cherry blossom branch one you see here. I hated it. It was so boring, but I made it and put it aside. That night, after drinking too much whiskey with my new pals, I went to bed thinking about how much I didn’t like this vase I made. It seemed like a fussy old lady. I laid in bed and couldn’t get to sleep, imagining cutting up this vase into pieces. Finally I realized I could get up and go to the studio (it’s open 24 hours) and cut it up if I wanted to. After all, that’s what I’m here for and I have nothing else to do but stay up all night cutting up vases if that’s my thing! So I went down to the studio, cranked up some Led Zeppelin, and went at the vase with a razor blade. The vase was already to too hard and dry to cut up much, so this is what I did, and I love it now!
ust share with you now what I have been doing. The first few days… not much. The jetlag was difficult and my brain was not fully operational. I was also coming down off all the stress from the last orders I shipped before leaving the States. I finally made a vase, a very typical vase for me, the cherry blossom branch one you see here. I hated it. It was so boring, but I made it and put it aside. That night, after drinking too much whiskey with my new pals, I went to bed thinking about how much I didn’t like this vase I made. It seemed like a fussy old lady. I laid in bed and couldn’t get to sleep, imagining cutting up this vase into pieces. Finally I realized I could get up and go to the studio (it’s open 24 hours) and cut it up if I wanted to. After all, that’s what I’m here for and I have nothing else to do but stay up all night cutting up vases if that’s my thing! So I went down to the studio, cranked up some Led Zeppelin, and went at the vase with a razor blade. The vase was already to too hard and dry to cut up much, so this is what I did, and I love it now!
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