Category: People

Leave it to the Japanese to come up with the most appropriate names for the months of the year. June is Minazuki, which literally means “the month of water.” This is the time of year when the rice paddy fields are filled with water, and also of relentless downpours because this is prime rainy season in Japan.

With tea classes cancelled until at least autumn, my desperation for Japanese sweets has reached new heights and so I embarked on making “Minazuki,” a delicious rice cake sweet named after the month.

Minazuki dessert on a glass plate by Sasaki Shoko. The triangle shape refers to the traditional thatched ice house where natural ice was stored. Summer sweets evoke a sense of coolness.

I first tasted Minazuki when visiting the Chado Research Center in Kyoto in 2015, where the museum entry fee included a bowl of matcha tea and a seasonal sweet. I’m terrible at remembering the times when I traveled to various places, but because I was served Minazuki, I know it was in June. I later also learned that people in Kyoto eat this triangular mochi dessert topped with red beans cooked in sugar often during the month of June.

A mochi topped with azuki red beans sounds relatively simple to make, but there is that stupid perfectionist in me that whispered, “but if you’re making Minazuki, the azuki can’t come from a can, it’s got to be those big Dainagon azuki.” In addition, the whisper continued: “Add some kudzu in the mochi to make it certainly Kyoto style (from my provincial Tokyoite perspective, kudzu is a very Kyoto ingredient).

With all these wild ambitions, I cooked over two days to make the sweet. Alas, the red beans didn’t turn out quite as I had hoped because their skins broke. Ideally, they are supposed to be intact and beautifully plump. I discovered that Azuki cooking is an art, like making the perfect Canelés de Bordeaux. Cutting this delicious sticky thing was a challenge by itself, but I persevered!

Minazuki on a petal edged dessert plate by Sasaki Shoko.

Minazuki is eaten especially in conjunction with the day of the summer passage cleansing ritual known as “Nagoshi no harae” on June 30th. The ritual is carried out with the hope of being disease-free and to ward off disaster and misfortune. And since such a wish can be made by making and eating a humble sweet, I virtually send you all Minazuki, to wish you good health for the rest of this difficult year.

New Wood-Fired Porcelain by Shumpei Yamaki for Your Summer Evenings

June 17, 2020Ceramics Food and Craft Shumpei Yamaki

New work by Shumpei Yamaki in our shop->

I will never forget the first time I went berry picking with my host family in British Columbia in the summer as a high school exchange student. Back then in the late 1980s, I was only familiar with strawberries, which to me was a winter fruit as they are grown in greenhouses in Japan. But that Canadian summer, there were so many different kinds of berries to pick and eat. There was plenty of time for these berry escapades as daylight stretched way past 9 o’clock in the evening. I remember that I was very happy then, and ever since, berries lift my spirits up.

Homemade blueberry ice cream in wood-fired porcelain sake cups by Shumpei Yamaki. Wood-fired porcelain has subtle and beautiful colors of gray, light green and peach.

As the weather warms and my favorite summer fruits and vegetables start appearing on the dining table, my eyes seek refuge from the heat in the cool of porcelain ceramics, woven bamboo, and hues of blue, green, and purple.

In hot weather, my eyes seek refuge in cool colored tableware

Tea master Sen no Rikyu’s Seven Precepts, which is basically a code on organizing lovely and memorable gatherings, includes this piece of advice: “In the summer, provide a sense of coolness.” For example, in summer tea preparations, a water jar may be covered in freshly washed leaf with dews remaining on top, or a tea bowl may be brought in filled with water to convey a feeling of coolness. Even in our currently stress-filled pandemic world, I have found that taking the time to select utensils and set a seasonal table for my husband and myself provided a sense of calm and place.

Featuring water creates a sense of coolness on the table.

Shumpei Yamaki’s kiln after firing in Spring 2020. As with last time, Shumpei omitted the use of pyrometric cones and thermometer to create an environment for flow state
(Photo Courtesy of Shumpei Yamaki)

And because I love the combination of Shumpei Yamaki’s clean forms in white clay, gray, green, blue, and peach colors created by the fire and ash, I specifically asked him for some porcelain work this summer, in addition to his usual stoneware work. I’m delighted to share these glacial works by Shumpei with you, and hope that you’ll take the time to look at photos of them taken at different angles so that you can discover the subtle and amazing complexities that the wood-firing process can give to a porcelain’s surface.

New Work by Mike Martino: The Sun and the Moon Shine Eternally Inside a Jar

April 29, 2020Ceramics Karatsu Mike Martino

Ceramics by Mike Martino in our shop ->

As April comes to an end in San Diego, the parks and beaches have begun to gradually reopen. This marks the beginning of what will be a very long and uncertain journey to ending our physical distancing that began what seems a lifetime ago in mid-March. But the start of Phase One is an opportune reason to celebrate, and I’m delighted to be able to do this with new ceramic work by Mike Martino from Karatsu, Japan.

In this latest batch, I requested mostly pieces with brushwork that include lovely shrimps, which over the years have become Mike’s signature symbol. I find his lovely rhythmical brush strokes very comforting and meditative to follow with my eyes and I hope you do too.

Large Shino Bowl by Mike Martino with his signature shrimp drawings.

I would like in particular to introduce one of Mike’s pieces that seem to capture our current state of being quite nicely. It is a ekaratsu (painted karatsu) bowl that has the calligraphy letters “kochu nichi getsu nagashi (壺中日月長)” written on it. The literal translation of this Zen word is “the sun and the moon shine eternally inside a jar.”

This phrase was derived from an old Chinese anecdote of an elderly medicine vendor who always disappeared into a jar hanging in the front of his shop after the day’s work. Curious about where the old man was going every night, a local official befriended him and was able to get invited into the pot with him. Inside, the official found a vast palace with a large garden where the old man entertained the official with food and drink. After what seemed to be a whole day, the official returned to the real world to find out that decades had passed. The old medicine vender was an immortal ascetic.

Karatsu bowl with the calligraphy words “kochu nichigetsu nagashi” by Mike Martino

In Buddhist-speak, this may be interpreted as “the realm of enlightenment transcends time.” But I simply interpret this as “time is what you make of it” and unfortunately I fell out of making anything of it for a while during the seemingly unending lockdown. This was a sharp reminder that I was spending way too much time endlessly reading the dark news concerning the pandemic on my phone screen and feeling anxious. But I’m now finally crawling back into the jar.

Lastly, I’d like to add that a lot of time was squandered while I stared at Mike’s bowl trying to figure out which part of the calligraphy referred to the jar (壺), inside (中), sun (日), moon(月), and long (長), only to find that Mike wrote the whole Zen phrase in romanized Japanese. So now you can pronounce a sophisticated Zen saying in Japanese, and isn’t this a highly productive way of using your time?

Mike Martino is currently having an online sale of his work on his website in Japan 4/29-5/6/2020
(click here to visit his website).

Building a Japanese Glassware Tradition: Blown Glass by Floresta Fabrica

February 17, 2020Floresta Fabrica Glass Shizuoka

Blown glasswork by Floresta Fabrica in our shop ->

When people think of crafts from Japan, glassware is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. But even though the craft has a relatively short history in Japan, I personally think Japan boasts many glass makers who create exceptional work, both sculpturally and functionally.

Blown glass pitchers by Suzuki Ai: The spouts are perfectly executed so they do not drip. The downward spout make these lovely pitchers resemble little birds

Glass tea caddy by Suzuki Tsutomu. The stunning blue-green color is added by films of silver and copper on the outside. Tsutomu carried out countless experiments to achieve this effect.

An emerging example of this Japanese glasswork excellence is Floresta Fabrica, a studio of husband and wife glass blowing duo of Suzuki Tsutomu and Ai, based in Mori town of Hamamatsu city in Shizuoka Prefecture. ‘Floresta Fabrica’ is Portuguese for ‘forest factory,’ because Tsutomu and Ai wanted to honor the Portuguese who brought glass blowing techniques to Japan in the 18th century. ‘Forest’ refers to their hometown of ‘Mori’, which means ‘forest’ in Japanese. They established their gallery and residence inside an old Japanese house in 2016.

Suzuki Tsutomu and Ai

Suzuki Tsutomu and Ai’s residence and gallery in Mori town

The view from the gallery of Floresta Fabrica

Tsutomu and Ai’s hand-formed glass vessels have very pleasing and slightly nostalgic forms and textures. “We thoroughly study the forms so that they are pleasing to look at and are comfortable to use” Ai explained. “We try to have the perspective of the user when we design the vessels.”

Glass goblet by Suzuki Ai has a lovely form and slightly nostalgic appeal

They are particular about forming each piece by only using hand tools because they believe that is the best way to convey the beauty of mouth-blown glass. For textured pieces, the mold is only used in the beginning to add the texture but shaping is done with hand tools. Ai said that mastering the use of tools is the most difficult process of glass blowing, and that she sometimes just wants to use her hands, but laughed that “would not end well.”

Some of the hand tools used by Suzuki Tsutomu and Ai

Suzuki Tsutomu creating the foot of a sake cup

The batch, which refers to the raw material for the glass, is also very carefully selected for the transparency of the glasses. “We use batches from Sweden because they are very transparent, and we melt the materials carefully so that very few impurities get mixed up.” Any impurities will affect the clarity of the glass.

A pelletized batch from Sweden used by Floresta Fabrica. The material is lead-free and melted to create clear glass.

Ai studied glass blowing at the Osaka University of Arts. She was among the first generation of students that studied in the newly established department. “It was a very good environment because they had the newest and top of the line equipment,” she recalls. Tsutomu was born into a family of ceramicists in Mori, which is well-known for its Moriyama ware. He learned glass-blowing at the Tokyo Glass-Art Institute, and worked several years in Tokyo. The couple decided to settle in Mori after they got married because they believed it was the ideal location for their studio.

Tsutomu and Ai recently became parents to a baby boy and are very happy to be able to raise him in the beautiful natural environment surrounding their house. “This location works well because people come to town to see the ceramics and they also stop by to see our glass work,” Tsutomu said. They dream that Mori will be known one day for both ceramics and glasswork.

The beautiful natural environment of Mori town

And history is on their side. Moriyama ware has a history of about 100 years, a relatively short timespan for ceramics in Japan. Moriyama was started by Nakamura Hidekichi, a local man who was so impressed by the story of Seto’s potter Kato Kagemasa that he invited a Shitoro-ware potter to establish a kiln in Mori. These days Mori is a well-established pottery town that is home to four families of potters.

Kagamimochi on Ontayaki Pedestal Plate

December 20, 2019Ceramics Onta Ontayaki

Ontayaki in our shop ->

The final addition to the Entoten gallery in 2019 is Ontayaki, which is produced in the small village of Onta, in northern Oita prefecture, by 10 families that are the descendants of its founders dating back to 1705.

For this batch of work, I asked a good friend that I have known for over 30 years who is an expert on Japanese craft to curate the work. I was very excited because I had never seen an Ontayaki pedestal plate until he chose to include it in this collection.

Pedestal plates are not often made in Onta because these vessels warp easily with the application of slip. But they are perfect for serving food for the new year, so I decided to make my own kagamimochi, a traditional Japanese New Year’s decoration made of rice cakes, to present on this special plate. You can find out more about the process in story highlights on Instagram.

Thank you for visiting my website and supporting Entoten for this past year! My best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year to you all.

Kagamimochi New Year decoration on Ontayaki pedestal plate.

Horihata Ran: Kutaniyaki to the Dining Tables Around the World

December 12, 2019Ceramics Horihata Ran

Kutaniyaki by Horihata Ran in our shop ->

Horihata Ran is an up and coming Japanese Kutaniyaki (Kutani ware) potter who is worldly-wise and talented beyond her years.

Born in Kanazawa surrounded by the rich ceramics culture of Kutaniyaki, Ran’s beginning as a potter was earlier than most of her contemporaries. She attended a vocational high school where she started learning pottery and went on to study at the Ishikawa Prefectural Institute for Kutani Pottery for three years. At 25, she already boasts 8 years of experience in working with clay. For the last three years, Ran has been working as a production potter at Kutani Seiyo Kiln, a studio comprised of multiple potters in Nomi City in Ishikawa where she is based.

Large peony Kutani sometsuke bowl by Horihata Ran

Ran initially wanted to make sculptures and art objects out of clay. “I thought it would be great to express myself in sculptures in the beginning,” she said. “Then after about four years, I started thinking that I wanted to create something that wasn’t just about me. I became interested in tableware because I was interested in a lot more than just myself. I’m curious about the people who cook food and use my ware, and also about the people who eat from them. Tableware is about relationships and I’m very interested in that.”

Kutaniyaki iroe tableware by Horihata Ran

Kutaniyaki is colorful painted porcelain ware of underglaze cobalt and overglaze enamel that is made in Ishikawa prefecture. Kutaniyaki’s roots go back 350 years to the very prestigious Ko-Kutani (old Kutani), which are of strong colors and luxurious designs, often seen in museums around the world. There is evidence suggesting that Ko-Kutani may have been made in Arita, in Saga, but Kutaniyaki refers to the painted porcelain ware of Ishikawa where a large kaolin deposit was discovered in the Nomi region around 200 years ago.

Since I visited Ishikawa to follow in the footsteps of the famous Rosanjin in 2014, I have been wanting to bring Kutaniyaki to the US. I think this overlooked region deserves much more attention in the ceramic world because there are some exciting potters coming out of here, due in part to the Ishikawa Prefectural Institute for Kutani Pottery that was established in 1984 to promote Kutaniyaki. Ran is a prime example of the new talent coming out of this investment.

Horihata Ran at Kutani Seiyo Kiln in Nomi City, Ishikawa
Photo courtesy of Horihata Ran

I came across Ran’s beautiful work at a major department store in Tokyo this past spring. Her work immediately caught my attention because it was fresh and bold, unlike many painted Kutaniyaki porcelain that I had seen. Most Kutani is too busy or too traditional looking for my taste but Ran’s brushwork carried a sense of deliverance from convention, and I was curious to find out why.

Kutaniyaki potter Horihata Ran applying overglaze enamel on porcelain.
Photo courtesy of Horihata Ran

“I restrain myself from drawing too much because I love drawing and I get carried away easily,” Ran chuckled as she explained her style. “I think that drawing with restraint balances well with food.” She also added that some heavily drawn-in pots work well with food, but they are much more difficult to design and perfect.

Wild chrysanthemum rice bowl by Horihata Ran. Ran restrains herself from drawing too much on the pottery so that the food is enhanced in the vessel.

I was very impressed to find out that she had spent 4 months in Denmark’s Krogerup Folk High School’s ceramics program after graduating from the Ishikawa Prefectural Institute for Kutani Pottery. Young Japanese of Ran’s generation are very inward looking and happy just to stay at home, and few willingly leave Japan to travel the world. Ran said she worried that she did not speak enough English, but because the students at the Danish school were from all over the world she felt comfortable going there.

“When I went to Denmark, I was surprised that young people were not shy to express their opinions in front of older people,” she said. “And I learned that the Danes put serious effort into creating comfortable space and time for hygge. I thought that was wonderful. I fondly remember building a little movie theatre in the basement with other students so that we could watch DVDs in comfort.”

Danish Bornholm themed Kutani sometsuke shallow bowl by Horihata Ran. Ran thought it was wonderful that the Danes put a lot of effort into creating hygge, a mood of coziness and comfort.

At first, Ran felt that there were too many breaks during class in Denmark because she tends to get completely absorbed into her work and does not like interruptions. But she later learned the importance of taking breaks and to connect with other students. The softness and freedom in Ran’s work most likely stems from the experience of living with students from different backgrounds and seeing the outside world.

Ran is beginning to establish her own studio in Nomi, and Entoten is delighted to have received the first batch of work that Ran has made in her new workspace. By spring 2020, she is hoping to work independently full-time. “It’s like a dream that someone living in America will be holding my work in their hands and using them. I wish that someday Kutaniyaki will be known around the world as tableware that people use in their daily life, not as pots in museums” she said.

New Baskets by Takami Yasuhiro

December 10, 2019Baskets Takami Yasuhiro

New bamboo baskets by Takami Yasuhiro in our shop->

Double turtle shell weave vertical basket by Takami Yasuhiro. Turtle shell (kikko) weave is one of the most difficult weaves for a basket.

Did you know that you need a pair of very strong hands to weave a large heavy-duty bamboo basket? Until I visited master bamboo basket weaver Takami Yasuhiro last year, I didn’t know how tough each of his bamboo splints were. As the basket gets bigger and taller, it is almost impossible to even bend one of these splints with my amateur hands.

It is said that it takes at least three years of training just to learn to manually split bamboo into splints to make a basket. The first basket that Takami-san completed under the apprenticeship of Miyazaki Shutaro was thrown into the fireplace by his master because it was not good enough. Takami-san laughs that such a strict and harsh way of teaching is now out of style and younger people in Japan these days will not tolerate it. But he is very proud that he learned under his strict master and would not have chosen to learn any other way.

Takami Yasuhiro splitting bamboo splints.

Hands, nails and teeth are all vital tools for bamboo basket weaving. Each splint is split into even width and thickness and finally peeled into two layers so that they are more flexible and durable. And they are the building blocks of Takami-san’s heavy-duty and beautiful baskets.

Takami Yasuhiro’s curved sharpening knives (kiridashi kogatana) used for shaving bamboo. The curve allows its end to be stabilized between the ring finger and little finger

Single-handled farmer’s market basket by Takami Yasuhiro

New Kohiki Pots by Inoue Shigeru

December 6, 2019Ceramics Inoue Shigeru Tokoname

Ceramics by Inoue Shigeru in our shop December 7th, 2019->

The beauty of the kohiki pots made by Japanese potter Inoue Shigeru are striking because he puts so much effort into acquiring and mixing two types of native clays for the dark base before the white slip is applied. The depth of the white is enhanced by the underlying dark clay.

Kohiki yunomi by Inoue Shigeru

To me, the negative aspects of common kohiki pots are that they are often thick and clunky because the layer of white slip is applied to the surface of the pots. They also chip more easily because of that extra layer. Inoue-san’s kohiki are very different though. They are light with lovely crisp rims and do not chip easily because of the fine nature of the base clay.

Petal-edged small bowls by Inoue Shigeru

Small petal-edged kohiki plates are my absolute favorite pots by Inoue Shigeru

I would like to warn first time kohiki owners though that because kohiki have an extra layer of white clay between the glaze and base, they are vulnerable to spotting and staining, especially when you first start using the ware. A Chanoyu practitioner called this spotting of kohiki as “blossoming”, which I thought was a poetic way to describe what was happening. Over time with use, the spotting will stop and the ware will season. So if you are looking for a pristine white pot, kohiki pots are not for you. But if you are willing to nurture a pot, do give them a try.

A set of four kohiki choko by Inoue Shigeru

As a thank you for all your support during 2019, I will offer sets of beautiful kohiki pots by Inoue Shigeru with free shipping within the U.S. for sale this Saturday. I hope that you will use this opportunity to grow your own kohiki.

Guardian of a Craft: ‘Kata-e-zome’ by Esteemed Textile Designer Yamauchi Takeshi

November 20, 2019Textiles Shizuoka Mingei Yamauchi Takeshi

Kata-e-zome by Yamauchi Takeshi in our shop ->

Entoten is over the moon to be able to introduce a collection of work by renowned Japanese textile designer Yamauchi Takeshi, who has been designing and dyeing textiles for over 60 years in his studio, Atelier Nuiya, in Hamatsu City in Shizuoka.

Soba cups noren door hanger by Yamauchi Takeshi on woven hemp.

Yamauchi-san creates work featuring bold designs of his own creativity, and also motifs inspired by traditional patterns and family crests. His colorful ideas are turned into tenugui towels, cushion covers, furoshiki wrapping cloth, and door hanging noren.

Furoshiki with a circular crane (tsurumaru) motif inspired by a traditional Japanese family crest. The crane logo of Japan Airlines was also inspired by the crest.

Yamauchi-san’s work is known as ‘kata-e-zome’ (pronounced kata-eh-zomeh). You may have heard of the term ‘katazome,’ which means a traditional method of dyeing fabrics by brushing on a resist paste through a stencil.

Thistles patterned tenugui by Yamauchi Takeshi

‘Kata-e-zome’ was coined by the Japanese government to recognize the achievements of Yamauchi-san’s teacher of 6 years, the legendary textile designer Serizawa Keisuke (1895-1984), who was awarded a Living National Treasure title in 1956. Serizawa carried out all of the processes of traditional stencil dyeing himself and created a more pictorial style of textile design, which became known as kata-e-zome, meaning stencil-picture-dyeing.

Yamauchi Takeshi carries out every aspect in the design and production of his textiles
Photo courtesy of Yamauchi Takeshi, Atelier Nuiya

Yamauchi-san, following in the footsteps of his revered teacher, still carries out all aspects of the production processes by himself. This involves highly labor-intensive work routines that includes creating the stencil, applying resist, and finally dyeing the textile. In a traditional katazome studio, the work is divided between several craftsmen.

Yamauchi-san’s daughter, Yoko-san, said that at this time her father does not take long breaks from his work because, “he worries that his muscles can’t keep up if he rests too much.” Yamauchi-san is 81 years old this year.

Kata-e-zome master Yamauchi Takeshi working at his studio
Photo Courtesy of Yamauchi Takeshi, Atelier Nuiya

Despite his age, Yamauchi-san’s enthusiasm to his craft is limitless. He creates the small tenugui towels with many different designs even though the work involved in creating them is no less than making much larger and expensive pieces. “He wants to make sure that there are pieces of his work available for every budget,” Yoko-san said.

Tenugui designed and dyed by Yamauchi Takeshi sold at Atelier Nuiya. Yamauchi-san creates many different patterned tenugui because he wants to make sure there are pieces of work available for every budget.

If you are ever in the Hamamatsu area of Shizuoka, I urge you to visit Yamauchi-san’s atelier, which is within walking distance of Hamamatsu Station. In addition, Yamauchi-san’s door hanging noren of red mount Fuji is on display at the Japan House in Los Angeles as part of the Japan 47 Artisans exhibition that runs until January 5, 2020 coordinated by D&Department.

Kata-e-zome master Yamauchi Takeshi’s Atelier Nuiya in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

Being in the company of Yamauchi-san’s textiles brings such joy and comfort to me, and a little part of Yamauchi-san’s creative world can be viewed in San Diego throughout November when his noren will be displayed at the Entoten Gallery. I hope that you will make time to come out to the gallery and see his special work in person.

Renewal: New Ceramics by Samuel Johnson

November 14, 2019Ceramics Samuel Johnson

Ceramics by Samuel Johnson in our shop ->

Exhibition of New Work by Samuel Johnson at Entoten Gallery, San Diego CA,
November 16, 2019, 12:00-4:00 pm

I was tingling with anticipation this fall as I awaited new work from Minnesota potter Samuel Johnson who said that he wanted to return to the roots of his early ceramics training and create altered painted tableware. I had never seen painted work by Sam, so I was very curious to see this style of his work.

Altered and painted bowl with flower motif by Samuel Johnson, 2019

Sam’s ceramics training began after he graduated from the University of Minnesota and became an apprentice to his mentor and teacher, Richard Bresnahan. Richard trained in Karatsu, which is one of the most well-known pottery towns in Japan, and later founded the Saint John’s Pottery at Saint John’s University since 1979. The process of learning under Richard was not dissimilar to how apprentices had learned for generations in Karatsu, which was watching and imitating the techniques of their masters.

Altered bowl by Samuel Johnson 2019. Sam stamped the bottom of the bowls with a waves motif (which he calls “wifi markings”). He applied blue slip, white slip, then painted and glazed the work.

Sam elaborated on what appears to have been a formidable and unforgiving learning process. “At night, after the work of the studio was finished for the day, I would be given a form to study and reproduce. The lessons came swiftly and only once. My teacher would move from his wheel to mine, throw a sample of the form he wanted me to make. This could be a small dish, an altered cup, a bowl with lid, or a bottle. He would say very little about it. The demonstration usually lasted just two or three minutes.”

For the next several weeks, sometimes even months, Sam would work to imitate the form. Eventually, Sam became very proficient at these forms and painted ware known as e-Karatsu (pronounced eh-Karatsu) that were versions of designs passed down for generations from Korea to Karatsu, and onto Minnesota.

Cup with ridge line and impressed cord pattern by Samuel Johnson. I love the corduroy feel of this cup.

But when his three-and-a-half-year apprenticeship was over, Sam decided not to reproduce these forms. He wanted to lean as little as possible on them so that he could open his eyes to new influences and nurture his own personal vision.

The reason he now wanted to return to these forms after a 20-year interlude was because he had been feeling unmoored in recent years as great political and social changes were occurring in the world at large as well as in his own personal life. He wanted to find out what he could create by returning to the place that gave him a sense of grounding, which was where he began training to be a potter.

The result of Sam’s journey to his roots is a set of refreshingly original work that is born from the deep experience and wide perspectives that Sam has acquired over many years of being a potter. His forms have a taste of Karatsu but they ‘feel’ very different because they are more robust. Maybe they carry the spirit of the vast Red River Valley where Sam grew up, well known even in Japan with the familiar tune of original Japanese lyrics about its nature. The restrained drawings of grass and flowers speak of the essence and power of regeneration, and the intentions behind the brushwork are very moving.

Apple crumble on Samuel Johnson’s small side dish. This is a traditional shape I have often seen in Japan, but its generous lip and size feels very American, which inspired me to bake an apple crumble. Sam says that pottery feels most meaningful to him when it can be used in daily life.

Sam explained that what came to the fore when he returned to these forms were not the pots of his apprenticeship but pots born from even earlier experiences. These were experiences of enjoying to throw dishes off the hump and altering them when wet, or loving the feeling of painting on them in a way that felt meaningful to him. “I loved the adaptation of these forms and the way they seemed to come to life through the process. It felt like rebirth. It felt like renewal,” Sam said.