mel jacobson on fri 20 jul 12
as i just wrote to craig.
when i was at hamada's studio he was becoming an older
man. he died a few years after i was in japan, just like mr. uchida.
they were old men.
things change as we age, and hamada was a rock star, he had people
and things going on all around him. he was very busy.
what was going on that day, was going on that day.
i saw it. so many did not have the `i made it` mentality of the
west. it was a business.
but, it does not matter....it is, what it is.
\the japanese system, as was my point, is different.
his legacy is safe forever. i admired that man a great deal.
like leach, they changed my life forever. they started the movement.
it matters not a bit to me who painted what, who glazed what, who sold
what and at what cost. it changed my life forever. and in my life i was
able to sit with those two old men in their homes, and thank them from my h=
eart.
i am very blessed.
and, as in the stories i have told....i made uchida pots, trimmed them, gla=
zed them
and loaded the kiln. they were his pots...his stamp on the bottom.
i was just the human power. it sure never bothered him, or his customers.
and, it sure did not bother me or the other workers.
mel
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Lee on fri 20 jul 12
Studio pottery was a relatively new phenomenon in Japan at Hamada's
time. It is said that Ogata Kenzan (=3DE5=3DB0=3DBE=3DE5=3DBD=3DA2 =3D=
E4=3DB9=3DBE=3DE5=3DB1=3D
=3DB1, 1663=3DE2=3D80=3D931743 was the
first studio potter, and Hamada's teacher Itaya Hazan, spurred on by
the European Expos, continued developing studio pottery, but the
practice of educated people making pots did not become wide spread
until the 20th century,
Originally, the work was not of an individual pottery, but of a kiln.
There was a master of the kiln, but the making of the pots was a
communal effort. Hamada and his student Tatsuzo Shimaoka payed
homage to the tradition by having a communtiy of potters do the work
under their direction, having work that was done by them, some work
that was made by workers, but decorated by them and another category
of work completely made by the workers.
At Shimaoka's workshop, only Shimaoka's personal work was stamped
with his signature stamp. Kiln work was unstamped and sold at a much
lower price.
Here is an article about Hazan, Hamada's teacher:
http://www.e-yakimono.net/html/itaya-hazan-jt.html
--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DC3=3DB3g ar chul an tI=3DE2=3D80=3D94tIr dlainn trina ch=
=3DC3=3DA9ile"=3D
=3DE2=3D80=3D94that is, "The
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
Steve Mills on fri 20 jul 12
For me it is not do much about the work they personally or their workshop c=
r=3D
eated (which I love) but about the ideals they sponsored and the standards =
t=3D
hey set. That's what made them so important, their giving to us all the fre=
e=3D
dom to work creatively within our tradition of choice. A rare and special g=
i=3D
ft.=3D20
Steve M
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
www.mudslinger.me.uk
Sent from my iPod
On 20 Jul 2012, at 14:08, mel jacobson wrote:
> as i just wrote to craig.
> when i was at hamada's studio he was becoming an older
> man. he died a few years after i was in japan, just like mr. uchida.
> they were old men.
> things change as we age, and hamada was a rock star, he had people
> and things going on all around him. he was very busy.
>=3D20
> what was going on that day, was going on that day.
> i saw it. so many did not have the `i made it` mentality of the
> west. it was a business.
>=3D20
>=3D20
> but, it does not matter....it is, what it is.
> \the japanese system, as was my point, is different.
>=3D20
> his legacy is safe forever. i admired that man a great deal.
> like leach, they changed my life forever. they started the movement.
> it matters not a bit to me who painted what, who glazed what, who sold
> what and at what cost. it changed my life forever. and in my life i was
> able to sit with those two old men in their homes, and thank them from my=
h=3D
eart.
> i am very blessed.
>=3D20
> and, as in the stories i have told....i made uchida pots, trimmed them, g=
l=3D
azed them
> and loaded the kiln. they were his pots...his stamp on the bottom.
> i was just the human power. it sure never bothered him, or his customers=
.=3D
> and, it sure did not bother me or the other workers.
> mel
>=3D20
> from: minnetonka, mn
> website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
> clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Lee on sat 21 jul 12
On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 7:44 PM, Dinah Snipes Steveni
wrote:
> Hi
>
> Can someone provide an answer as to who threw the really big plates/charg=
=3D
ers?
His sons threw the platters. There is a video of Shinsaku throwing a
platter on youtube. Hamada's handwheel wasn't good for platters.
They become too wide and impossible to turn the wheel with the turning
stick. The platters were thrown on a Korean kickwheel.
When I was at Shimaoka's, my friend Masa Miyajima threw the
big platters. He was a past apprentice at the time. Someitmes it
would be difficult for him, because he would have to drop whatever he
was doing at his own studio, to come throw platters and larger dishes
for Sensei.
--=3D20
--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.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
Craig Edwards on sat 21 jul 12
Dinah: Susan Peterson wrote a nice book on Hamada Shoji called "Shoji
Hamada A Potter's Way and Work".ISBN 0-87011-228-7 It's a nice
book written about his work during her stay with Hamada Shoji in 1970. A
detailed rendering of how he worked. It shows his son Shinsaku-san throwing
the large platters you speak of, and Hamada Shoji decorating them.
Make Good Pots
~Craig
New London MN
http://woodfiredpottery.blogspot.com/
On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 7:44 PM, Dinah Snipes Steveni <
jd.steveni@comcast.net> wrote:
> Hi
>
> Can someone provide an answer as to who threw the really big
> plates/chargers? I went along last September to the Panasonic Bldg in Tok=
yo
> to a rather splendid exhibition called Hamada Shoji Style. A very nicely
> done retrospective from early work to his special rather Rex Harrison
> tweedy western tailored suits, to his favorite Eames lounger were on show=
,
> and a few examples from his chair collection! The big plates were under
> glass, and I had to use my hand span (8") to approximate diameter which
> seemed about 34". Before firing and subsequent shrinkage they must have
> been -- what -- 38/9"? Would he have thrown after an apprentice slap
> stacked and formed for him? The ones I really rate are the designs from t=
he
> satisfying abstract looseness of a glaze trailer. I can just picture him
> seated in the glaze yard with these huge plates presented, glaze pots
> proferred right and left, dippers filled after a mere glance or word with=
a
> particular glaze, and Hamada smoothly spilling glorious designs over thes=
e
> enormous plates. Sigh. They are truly sublime to my eyes.
>
> Additionally, anybody reading this up here in the Northwest please come
> along to to Skagit Artists Together Studio Tour. My studio/workshop is
> participating this year. It would be a pleasure to welcome other members =
of
> this forum to my studio. You can download a map from
> www.skagitartiststogether.com. I'm #7 on the tour.
>
> All the best to everyone.
>
> Dinah
> Mount Vernon, WA.
> www.dinahsnipessteveni.com
> www.dinahsnipessteveni.wordpress.com
> www.etsy.com/shop/DinahSnipesSteveni
> dinahsnipessteveni.tumblr.com
>
--
Ric Swenson on sat 21 jul 12
Hamada..ehem
when Voulkos came to our workshop in Alaska in 1978....he had no problem th=
rowing very large platters.. a meter or more......I have one which I have =
admired much..and kept...with pass throws and decorations...he threw them o=
n my Brent wheel....then he signed the bottom of the wheel too ...he was dr=
unk a a sailor..but still a powerful potter....later....we sang songs until=
4 am and then taught from 10 until 4 PM
he was a poet and a potter....
an Abstract Expressionist Potter
Lee....
Pete Voulkos...an Abstract Expressionist in Clay....
he changed the way we think about clay more than Hamada ever did...
Hamada taught us to rever brushstrokes..not much else
like the impressionist painters taught us to rever the brush and paint...co=
lor and light....
ah
those were the days
'You took the wrong time to leave me Lucielle'. by Kenny REogers
played it over and over....that night in a small Anchorage bar...many beer=
s and scotches.....
turning stick is an antiquated method...get a Brent wheel....come to life. =
Turning sticks wheels are old school...too antiquated.
we became close friends because of pottery and metal welding. His second lo=
ve. Metal.
Ric
Ric Swenson, B.F.A, M.F.A.
Ceramist, Artist and Teacher.
Jing De Zhen Ceramic Institute
Jing De Zhen City,
Jiang Xi Province
China
Mobile: 86-13767818872
> Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2012 01:58:36 -0500
> From: cwiddershins@GMAIL.COM
> Subject: Re: hamada again
> To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>
> On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 7:44 PM, Dinah Snipes Steveni
> wrote:
> > Hi
> >
> > Can someone provide an answer as to who threw the really big plates/cha=
rgers?
>
> His sons threw the platters. There is a video of Shinsaku throwing a
> platter on youtube. Hamada's handwheel wasn't good for platters.
> They become too wide and impossible to turn the wheel with the turning
> stick. The platters were thrown on a Korean kickwheel.
>
> When I was at Shimaoka's, my friend Masa Miyajima threw the
> big platters. He was a past apprentice at the time. Someitmes it
> would be difficult for him, because he would have to drop whatever he
> was doing at his own studio, to come throw platters and larger dishes
> for Sensei.
> --
> --
> Lee Love in Minneapolis
> http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
>
> "Ta tIr na n-=A8=AEg ar chul an tI=A1=AAtIr dlainn trina ch=A8=A6ile"=A1=
=AAthat is, "The
> land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
> within itself." -- John O'Donohue
Lee on sat 21 jul 12
Noguchi....Eminem
In Japan, Noguchi, student of Brancusi, was the most influential
American artist working in clay. His influence as a Westerner was as
great as Bernard Leach's. He gave ceramic artists permission to
work outside the vessel. I don't know if he ever met Hamada, but
his mentor Rosanjin (who is held in higher esteem in Japan than
Hamada), was the nemesis of Soetsu Yanagi. (Rosanjin was always
trying to talk Kanjiro Kawaii into leaving Yanagi and joining his
group. As Kazuo Yagi (of the clay group in Kyoto, inspired by
Noguchi) tried to talk Kamoda Shoji into joining his group.)
There was an important show at the Smithsonian (while I was in Japan)
of Noguchi's work and those he influenced. I have the catalog. It
was put together by Louise Cort who also brought Shino to Western
attention and wrote a magnificent book on the potters of the Shigaraki
valley. Noguchi intimately new the formal aspects of sculpture.
See the virtual show here:
http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/noguchi/objects.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D3DSKL254Y_jtc
--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.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
Dinah Snipes Steveni on sat 21 jul 12
Hi
Can someone provide an answer as to who threw the really big plates/charger=
=3D
s? I went along last September to the Panasonic Bldg in Tokyo to a rather s=
=3D
plendid exhibition called Hamada Shoji Style. A very nicely done retrospect=
=3D
ive from early work to his special rather Rex Harrison tweedy western tailo=
=3D
red suits, to his favorite Eames lounger were on show, and a few examples f=
=3D
rom his chair collection! The big plates were under glass, and I had to use=
=3D
my hand span (8") to approximate diameter which seemed about 34". Before f=
=3D
iring and subsequent shrinkage they must have been -- what -- 38/9"? Would =
=3D
he have thrown after an apprentice slap stacked and formed for him? The one=
=3D
s I really rate are the designs from the satisfying abstract looseness of a=
=3D
glaze trailer. I can just picture him seated in the glaze yard with these =
=3D
huge plates presented, glaze pots proferred right and left, dippers filled =
=3D
after a mere glance or word with a particular glaze, and Hamada smoothly sp=
=3D
illing glorious designs over these enormous plates. Sigh. They are truly su=
=3D
blime to my eyes.=3D20
Additionally, anybody reading this up here in the Northwest please come alo=
=3D
ng to to Skagit Artists Together Studio Tour. My studio/workshop is partici=
=3D
pating this year. It would be a pleasure to welcome other members of this f=
=3D
orum to my studio. You can download a map from www.skagitartiststogether.co=
=3D
m. I'm #7 on the tour.=3D20
All the best to everyone.
Dinah
Mount Vernon, WA.=3D20
www.dinahsnipessteveni.com
www.dinahsnipessteveni.wordpress.com
www.etsy.com/shop/DinahSnipesSteveni
dinahsnipessteveni.tumblr.com
Lee on sun 22 jul 12
On Sat, Jul 21, 2012 at 7:38 PM, Craig Edwards wr=
=3D
ote:
> Dinah: Susan Peterson wrote a nice book on Hamada Shoji called "Shoji
> Hamada A Potter's Way and Work".ISBN 0-87011-228-7
It is a good "outsiders" look at Hamada. Leach's book, he wrote in
collaboration with Hamada, is more accurate.
Peterson only spent a short time with Hamada.
I know, from living in Japan, that it is easy to misunderstand
things when speaking to a non-native speaker of English. Sometimes,
your brain "just makes up sh*t to fill in the blanks. ;^)
You can find some used copies for $60.00s
http://www.amazon.com/Hamada-Potter-Bernard-Leach/dp/0870118285
--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.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
Bill Jones on mon 23 jul 12
Dinah: Susan Peterson wrote a nice book on Hamada Shoji called "Shoji
Hamada A Potter's Way and Work".ISBN 0-87011-228-7
The current (and last) edition of Susan's book is available from The
American Ceramic Society: ISBN: 1-57498-198-8
Here is the link
http://ceramicartsdaily.org/bookstore/shoji-hamada/
Bill Jones
Editor, Pottery Making Illustrated
Art Books Program Manager
600 N. Cleveland Ave., Suite 210
Westerville, Ohio 43082
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