I have officially made it to my destination! I arrived yesterday morning and my sensei, Kato Hiroshige picked me up from the train station. What a wonderful adventure it has been so far! I am so excited to be here and, not going to lie, still nervous about how I would get on in such a new and different place. But! none-the-less it has been great. Sensei is fantastic, he is a production potter and has learned this craft from his father and grandfather. He is considered a master potter and definitely deserves that title! One of the reasons I chose to do the program in Seto with Mr. Kato is because of a quote from him on the website for Explore Japanese Pottery. He said, "“It requires 3 years to master wedging, and 10 years to master the wheel.” I believe in dedicated hard work and a repetitive process to truly master something. Knowing that this is a necessity and a tradition in Seto was inspiring and encouraging. After treating me to a delicious lunch, some of the best food I've ever had, and taking me grocery shopping, I got a tour of the studio and where I will be living the next 22 days.
It is a beautiful set up with a throwing room, a room for decorating and glazing, kiln room with 2 gas and 2 electric kilns, a packaging area done by Sensei's wonderful mother, an area for gathering outside and enjoying each others company, the gallery room, and Sensei's office which is where our tea breaks are located. I tried Matcha tea for the first time and a gel dessert. Upstairs is the housing. I have my own little apartment with a small kitchenette and a Japanese style futon bed. It is quaint and absolutely perfect.
Along with me, there is one other person from the Explore Japanese Ceramics program, Beatriz, she is from London and is very friendly. It is her second time here which says a lot about our pottery master! Sensei also has an apprentice, Megumi. She doesn't speak much English, but I don't speak much Japanese, I think we will learn a lot from each other. After taking a walk in the afternoon I was walking around the studio getting a little acquainted and saw Sensei and Megumi working on an order of 200 tea cups that were special ordered for a restaurant. I offered to help so Megumi demonstrated the process and I got started. It was nice to see what type of work goes into some of the things that Sensei does and be able to give a helping hand. He was very thankful and happy that I offered and I even learned a couple new Japanese words while working along side them.
Along with me, there is one other person from the Explore Japanese Ceramics program, Beatriz, she is from London and is very friendly. It is her second time here which says a lot about our pottery master! Sensei also has an apprentice, Megumi. She doesn't speak much English, but I don't speak much Japanese, I think we will learn a lot from each other. After taking a walk in the afternoon I was walking around the studio getting a little acquainted and saw Sensei and Megumi working on an order of 200 tea cups that were special ordered for a restaurant. I offered to help so Megumi demonstrated the process and I got started. It was nice to see what type of work goes into some of the things that Sensei does and be able to give a helping hand. He was very thankful and happy that I offered and I even learned a couple new Japanese words while working along side them.
After work Sensei did some demos on the wheel for Beatriz and I. He threw off the hump and it was just magical. He can throw a teacup in like 30 seconds, even can throw plates off the hump. He spoke of feeling the clay and knowing but the size in your hand how much you need from the large mound. He mentioned that the tradition of working off the hump is important so that you can throw a lot in one day and work fast. He sometimes throws 300-400 tea cups a day! Mind blowing! I am going to learn so much here! Funny thing is, Sensei was impressed with what I do too. I am but a humble student still and know I have a long way to go until I can be as prolific as him, but still, I was honored to share my work and receive his positive comments. Today I am one day closer to becoming a master potter. |