Lee Love on thu 15 oct 09
On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 3:02 PM, tony clennell wr=
=3D
ote:
> While Lee is busy looking to find yet another first for the East, I'm
> here to tell ya the best handles are made in the west. Yep the handles
> in the east by and large suck the hind one.
Tony, I don't think I can make the same kinds of comparisons as
you do. Living in Japan for over 8 years, what I found in meeting
different people from different parts of the globe, that folks from
all places can vary in how cosmopolitan or provincial they are.
For example, one time, I had a Tokyo hair dresser say about
a foriegner/gaijin after they did something foolish: "Aren't all
foreigners like that!" I said, "I don't think so. I think a
Mashiko farmer has more in common with a Minnesota farmer than he does
with a Tokyo hair dresser. A Tokyo hair dresser has more in common
with a NYC hair dresser, than he does a Mashiko farmer."
A big epiphany I had after seeing the Yoshidaya Kutani
show and the Mino/Shino show at the Idemitsu, was that alll the
Japanese pots we like the most in the West, came about when Japanese
culture interfaced with Korean and Chinese culture, and later with
Western culture. I am working on an article for Studio Potter about
this.
Work in isolation becomes pretty stagnant. I saw some
great handles in Japan, but I had to look for them. You might not see
them on a casual trip. But you know, there are a lot more coffee
houses in Japan than their are Chado houses in the West.
--
Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D97tha=
t is, "T=3D
he
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
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