pottery continued - and to be continued

my first attempt here at making a bowl on the wheel

As promised I have to update you on my newest endeavor - Japanese pottery making. Mr. Sano runs a small workshop out in the foothills on the outskirts of Takamatsu, and he kindly agreed to teach me some of his methods.

Since food and plateware share an obviously integral connection, I thought it'd be nice to learn some techniques while thinking about what could be plated on them.

One thing that I always notice about Japanese earthenware like pottery is that it tends to be more natural in shape - rougher and more reliant on it's materials. The potters are clearly not always aiming for that perfect round shape; plates that look like torn sheets of paper and unspun handmade cups with thick one-sided glazes. Mr. Sano's pottery is a prime example of this, pottery that doesn't deny what it is - dirt and clay.

This time around managed to finish up some bowls, sauce dishes and little things but they still need to be glazed. Update and finished pottery after they get fired.

food graffiti on the bottom of a sauce dish

sudden whim or pottery barn?

So, I decided to take up pottery. I figured, I spend all this time plating food, right. How far back can you take that? Well, I guess it doesn't get much further back than making the plates. The last time I tried this out though was as a student in high school, so I knew I'd need some help.

Fortunately that's where living in rural Japan comes in handy. I have found a teacher, now I just need to get my hands dirty. I'll shoot out another update on this when I have some work to show.