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Tag: Blown glass

Revitalizing Taketa with Craftsmanship: Glassblower Naru

By:
Ai Kanazawa
August 15, 2022Naru (Inoue Naruhito) Events, Workshops and Webinars Glass

Glasswork by Naru in our shop ->

GLASS SHOW with Naru <Inoue Naruhito>
September 3 & 4, 2022
11 am – 5 pm
At The Den on Laurel Street
205 Laurel Street, #104
San Diego CA 92101

For more than two decades, Japanese glassblower Inoue Naruhito, known as Naru, has been fascinated by glass, the raw material of his work. “When I create work, I pay special attention to how light occurs in the work I make,” he says. “I think about how my work refracts and reflects light, and the unique lens effects.”

Large KAGUYA vase by Naru. Its appearance changes subtly with light
KAGUYA Lidded jar by Naru
KAGUYA teabowl by Naru
KAGUYA pourer and glasses by Naru.
In his smaller utilitarian work, Naru seeks pleasant plumpness of the glass surface

Naru’s work is sinuous and colorful, carrying unique meditative qualities, like an enchanting sea jelly bursting with life. “I want to make work that seems to have sprung out of the earth, or suggest a ripening fruit,” he explains. “Even though they’re manmade, I want to evoke the notion of natural objects that has existed on earth from the ancient past.”

Naru first became interested in glass while traveling alone in Morocco over 20 years ago. Seeing that he had brought a camera, a local friend asked him to document the “Festival of Sacrifice.” “When they brought out a sheep, I assumed that they were going to shear it,” he said. “I was so startled when they started slaughtering it. I wanted to cover my eyes, but somehow, I could maintain my calm through my camera lens.”  It was this emboldening effect of seeing the world through glass that stuck with him.

After returning to Japan, Naru visited a local glass studio to learn more about glass. He also discovered that his name “Naru” means “fire” in Arabic. “I felt a sense of destiny because the shape of the glass is changed by melting it with fire,” he says. Eventually Naru signed up for his first glassblowing class at Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, Washington. “I boldly signed up for their summer session with almost no experience,” he says. But this fearless act allowed him to build friendships with fellow artists at Pilchuck and drove him to seriously pursue the craft.

In 2002, Naru joined the Toyama Institute of Glass Art. After graduating from the institute, he continued to hone his skills by working for various glass artists until 2011.

Nature is the source of inspiration for Naru, and he is immersed in it in Taketa, where he set up his glass studio in 2015. A small country town of less than 20,000 people in Oita prefecture in Kyushu, Taketa is an ancient castle town famous for its soda hot springs and magnificent panoramic plateau on sediment from the Mount Aso volcano.

Magma Glass, a studio founded and operated by Naru in Kuju plateau, Taketa, Oita
Photo courtesy of Naru
The surrounding Kuju Plateau, Taketa, Oita
Photo courtesy of Naru
Central Taketa Town, Oita
Photo courtesy of Naru

Like other small Japanese towns in the countryside, Taketa’s population is aging and shrinking. But what is special about this town is its unique program to promote settlement by young and motivated craft artisans through subsidies. “In 2012, I built my own studio in Yokohama, my hometown, but Taketa invited me, so I decided to move here with my family three years later,” Naru said.

Taketa attracted enough artisans over the years to be known as a town of crafts and beautiful nature among Japanese tourists. Naru’s well-established glass studio –called Magma Glass, in homage to the adjacent Mount Aso— is a great success story providing local employment and attracting craft tourism.

“After I arrived here, I wanted to create work using local materials,” Naru explains. “And because it is Taketa, I wanted to use bamboo.” “Taketa” literally means “bamboo fields.”

Through trial and error, Naru devised a method to cure bamboo to use as molds for glassblowing. Now, his main line of work is made using these bound bamboo molds that create beautiful soft curved lines. He named the series “Kaguya”, after the bamboo princess Kaguya, who was born from a segment of bamboo in the old Japanese folklore, “The Tale of The Bamboo Cutter” (竹取物語).

WATCH VIDEO FOOTAGE OF GLASS ARTIST NARU BY JETRO

Cured bamboo glass molds
Photo courtesy of Naru
KAGUYA wind bell by Naru. These bells have bamboo clappers that create soothing sounds. There will be over 30 of these bells shown in San Diego in September 2022
Naru working at his studio at Magma Glass
Photo courtesy of Naru

The other line of work that Naru passionately pursues include lamps and candle holders that he began making after the destructive earthquake in Japan in 2011. “Soon after the earthquake, there were widespread power outages and electricity conservation requests,” he recalls. He also added that since the pandemic, there has been renewed interest in lanterns in Japan. He says that it is probably because more people spent time outdoors or went camping, and they needed a reliable light source without electricity. “I thought that maybe it is also because fire is a source of comfort during this time of crisis.”

Blownglass candle stand by Naru

For the Labor Day weekend pop-up at the Den on Laurel Street, Naru will bring over 130 pieces of his work from Japan that will be shown in the U.S. for the first time. He will be at the Den throughout the two-day event. Join us to meet this prolific artist, who is also playing a big part in revitalizing a beautiful town in Kyushu through creativity.

Transparent, Translucent, and Opaque: New Glasswork by Ishida Tami

By:
Ai Kanazawa
August 2, 2021Glass Ishida Tami

Glass by Ishida Tami in our shop ->

When I walk my dog before sunrise in San Diego’s Mission Bay, the sky along the Pacific coast sometimes displays spectacular bands of colors. When that happens, I take a picture and send it to the glass artist Ishida Tami because I think of her work.

Ishida Tami’s Glass Vessel, 2021
The sky before sunrise in Mission Bay, January 2021.

“The beauty of what nature creates is unrivaled and there is no way to even imitate it. But I want my work to stir the imagination in people,” Tami explained about what motivates her. Tami creates blown glass with layers of powdered glass coatings that are cut and intensely polished on the surface, a unique technique that she developed while studying the works of ancient Sasanian glassmakers.

Combining colors is the most difficult aspect in creating her work and Tami readily admits that she often makes mistakes. “Glass can be opaque, translucent, transparent, and the sizes of glass powder and their melting speeds and manufacturers can vary,” Tami said in summarizing the complex process and infinite combinations that are possible.

Tami used three different types of black glass in four different grain sizes to create work in the batch for Entoten

For example, Tami used three different types of black glass in four different grain sizes in the latest batch of work that she made for Entoten. “Black goes well with vivid colors so I used black many times in this batch of work,” she said. “I’m happy that delicate expressions of layers can be achieved with them.”

Tami has recently been finding inspirations for colors and layers of glass in natural stones, like agates with patterns on the cut surface. And while researching agates, she stumbled upon “The Writing of Stones,” a book by the late French intellectual Roger Caillois. “I thought that maybe we were inspired in a similar way by these rocks,” she said about the book. “But the vast imagination that Caillois derived from the interior of these stones was astonishing.”

A closer look of the foot of a glass vessel by Ishida Tami

Tami chuckled that she thought she was skilled at fantasizing until she read Caillois’ book and was amazed that he was far better at it.  “My thoughts as I create are evolving little by little, even if that isn’t apparent now. But I hope to create work that would reflect this progression in the future,” she said. The transformation is already visible in her current work that are distinctly her own.

 

Nitta Yoshiko’s Trunk Show at the Mingei International Museum Shop in Balboa Park, San Diego. November 3rd and 4th, 2017

By:
Ai Kanazawa
November 1, 2017Glass Mingei Nitta Yoshiko

Blown and etched glasswork by Nitta Yoshiko in our shop ->

I am really excited to be able to show over 100 masterful pieces of work by Japanese glass artist Nitta Yoshiko at the Mingei International Museum Shop in San Diego this weekend.

Blown glass bowls by Japanese artist Nitta Yoshiko

I have known Yoshiko for over 5 years now, and I still remember vividly when I first saw her glassware at a craft fair in Osaka in 2012. I had never seen blown glass as thin and comfortable to hold as those made by Yoshiko, and I excitedly asked if she was willing to work with me to introduce her work in the United States. I was so happy when she agreed!

Japanese Glass Artist Nitta Yoshiko (third from left) at a craft fair in Japan in 2012

Almost every day, I use the glasses that I first bought from her back in 2012. Yoshiko’s works are not just beautiful and simple, but also very sturdy. Yoshiko makes her work exclusively with clear glass that demands the highest skill from the glass blower because any unevenness in the thickness can be obvious at first glance.

Glass blowing tools used by Nitta Yoshiko

I asked Yoshiko why she chose to work with clear glass despite these technical difficulties and she gave me this explanation: “The biggest reason I work with clear glass is because it is my favorite type of glass. In my opinion, the most appealing aspect of glass is its ability to let the light through, and its shadow to fall onto the surface that it is placed on. These effects are maximized in clear glass. I also love the appearance of clear glass.”

Nitta Yoshiko chose to work with clear glass because she thinks that the most appealing aspect of glass is its ability to let the light through, and its shadow to fall onto the surface that it is placed on.
Orange supreme in Nitta Yoshiko’s footed bowl. Yoshiko works with clear glass because it shows the true colors of the objects that it is holding.

She continued: “I also want my work to be the vessel that shows the true colors of the objects that it is holding. Food, flowers, drinks all have beautiful natural colors. I think people want to enjoy the subtle colors of their sake, for example.”

The maker’s regard for the end user can be felt in every piece that is made by Nitta Yoshiko.

Yoshiko was planning to be in San Diego for this show but a family emergency made that trip impossible unfortunately. Nonetheless, she is here in spirit, and her regard for you, the end user, can be felt in every piece that she made and sent. I hope that you will be able join me in celebrating her beautiful work at the most fantastic and appropriate venue that is the Mingei International Museum Shop in San Diego.

Heart of Glass: The Transparent Passion of Glassmaker Ikushima Harumi

By:
Ai Kanazawa
November 19, 2013Glass Ikushima Harumi

Glasswork by Ikushima Harumi in our shop ->

The mark of a true glassmaker is being totally smitten by a red-hot glob of molten glass. This was the reaction of Japanese glassmaker Ikushima Harumi when she saw the gathered glass at the end of a blowpipe coming out of a furnace for the first time. “I thought it looked like a beautiful glowing stone. I was very excited”, she recalls of the moment when her love affair with glass began.

Footed murrine cups by Ikushima Harumi
Footed murrine cups by Ikushima Harumi

Harumi specializes in the elaborate Italian glass making technique known as murrine. The murrine process begins by creating a fused bundle of colored glass into a design and stretching it into a cane. The cane is cut crosswise to reveal the design and these pieces are called murrine. The murrine are then arranged into a mosaic, fused into a tile, and picked up with a molten glass collar and blown into a vessel.

Glassmaker Ikushima Harumi at her hot glass studio in Shizuoka Japan
Glassmaker Ikushima Harumi at her hot glass studio in Shizuoka, Japan

This blown murrine process that is used to create her footed cups is extremely complex because the murrine adds to the difficulty in creating a balanced and clean form. Uneven expansion of glass can also cause the pattern to warp. So how did Harumi master this composite process?

Harumi did not start out as a murrine glassmaker when she first entered the profession after graduating from Tama Art University almost 20 years ago. From the beginning, Harumi was curious to learn different techniques including lampworking, fusing, and casting that brought out different aspects of the beauty of glass.

Close-up of the murrine cup. Blowing murrine into balanced form is an extremely diffcult task.
Close-up of the murrine cup. Blowing murrine into a balanced form is an extremely diffcult task.

The equipment that was available to her also determined what methods she could use. When Harumi’s glassmaker husband Ikushima Ken worked for the American glassmaker Dan Dailey at his studio between 1997 and 1999 near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Harumi bought a little kiln that was used on the kitchen counter to make kiln-formed glass.

After returning to Japan, the couple decided to build their own glass studio on the western coast of Izu peninsula in Shizuoka. Since their studio was built in 2001, Harumi has been blowing glass more frequently. The glassblowing process requires an assistant, and Ken and Harumi help each other. So being married to a glassmaker has also allowed her to continue glassblowing.

Hot glass tools at Ikushima Harumi’s studio
(Photo courtesy of Ikushima Harumi)

Harumi’s embrace of the murrine technique is likely the result of her experimentation with various methods of glassmaking throughout the years. “Among the many steps of creating blown murrine, I especially enjoy the quiet part of the process, like deciding the color and design of the cane, or making the canes, then cutting and arranging the little pieces” she explains. The all-involving murrine technique is perfect for this multi-skilled glassmaker.

A fused tile of murrine speak of the quiet moment when they are arranged together by Harumi (Photo courtesy of Ikushima Harumi)
A fused tile of murrine speaks of the quiet moment when they are arranged together by Harumi
(Photo courtesy of Ikushima Harumi)

The murrine process also offers a tantalizing insight into Harumi’s philosophy of glassmaking. “I want to make work that only I can create. But to me, what is distinctly mine is not defined by a new form or an interesting color of glass” she says. “As I make my work, I imagine the environment where my work is going to reside in, in the lives of other people who use it” she continues. “I want my work to be the vehicle to share the joyful feeling that I experience while making glass. The quiet, happy moment when I’m arranging the murrine on the kiln shelf.”

The stylish beauty that defines Harumi’s colorful work clearly captures her spirit and the serenity that comes from someone who is so at peace and in love with her craft.

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