Richard Mahaffey on tue 31 jan 06
Mel,
Your picture is from the Mori pottery in Otani on Shikoku, Tokushima, Japan.
I lived about 20 minutes from there when I lived in Japan. I wandered
into the studio showroom with a Grad student who had the unenviable task
of keeping me out of trouble. I looked around the large showroom and
then looked out the back door. It was a case of dejavu.
While at San Jose State I seemed to be the only student who had ever run
a movie projector so I got to assist whenever the professors showed
Potters of Japan Part 1 & 2 by Richard Peeler. During my stay there I
showed it about 20 times. When I looked out the back door I asked Kyoko
to ask the woman if this was the Mori Brothers factory in Otani on the
island of Shikoku (This was the intro line used by Richard Peeler) and
the woman said yes. I told her through Kyoko that I had shown the movie
many, many times. She said she was a young girl when the film was made
(I was in Jr. High that year), but remember it. She had never seen it.
I felt like I was visiting a place that I had been to many times. We
went to the main studio and there were about 15 of those wheels. They
made 600 pound 300 gallon pots for the fabric dyeing industry that used
to be the second largest cash maker in Tokushima. tokushima is famous
for it's indigo dyed fabric and there is at least one really nice Aizome
museum there where you can see the traditional set up with one of the
big jars set into the ground. You can even try your hand at dyeing some
cloth.
The man throwing in the picture was still making pots on the kick wheels
in 1996. A friend said that Mori san might be the last person who knew
how to make those large pots. We watched him making large planters for
lotus plants that were over 45" in diameter (Mori san was in his late
70's then. I visited many times knowing that I would not soon have
such a chance again.
Otani is not well known and is small but the area around it is very
interesting.
Rick Mahaffey- nostalgic about Naruto and northern Tokushima
Fredrick Paget on wed 1 feb 06
While we were in Fosan, China in 2002 I saw a woman powered wheel in
a large factory we were touring. I think it was used just to
demonstrate old ways to visitors like us but we all gathered around
while a potter threw a 3 foot tall jar while a woman stood beside the
wheel and rotated it by kicking backward with one foot while hanging
on to a rope and leaning on a brick wall. The wheel head was 4 feet
in diameter and flush with the floor.
I have several pictures of the operation and I will put one up on my
homepage on .Mac
--
From Fred Paget,
Marin County, CA, USA
fredrick@well.com
http://homepage.mac.com/fredrick/FileSharing1.html
Charter Member Potters Council
Steve Irvine on wed 1 feb 06
Richard,
Your note brought back a lot of memories for me too. I also used to watch that movie about
potters in Japan when I was a student at Sheridan in 1971. The part about the potters throwing
large pots in Shikoku inspired me to make a whole series of big pieces when I was a student.
Here is an example:
http://www.steveirvine.com/clayart/lg_pot.jpg
This photo was originally published along with an article in the March '74 edition of CM.
Steve
http://www.steveirvine.com
On Tue, 31 Jan 2006 22:06:51 -0800, Richard Mahaffey wrote:
>Mel,
>Your picture is from the Mori pottery in Otani on Shikoku, Tokushima, Japan.
>I lived about 20 minutes from there when I lived in Japan. I wandered
>into the studio showroom with a Grad student who had the unenviable task
>of keeping me out of trouble. I looked around the large showroom and
>then looked out the back door. It was a case of dejavu.
>
>While at San Jose State I seemed to be the only student who had ever run
>a movie projector so I got to assist whenever the professors showed
>Potters of Japan Part 1 & 2 by Richard Peeler. During my stay there I
>showed it about 20 times....
Wagoner, Charles on thu 2 feb 06
There is an clip of the Mori Pottery on the one of the "Potters of Japan" films
on the Peeler Ceramic Art Films. I think it is number two. On that clip there is
a helper turning the wheel lying on the floor on his side. The pot weighs close
to 600 pounds. It also shows Mr. Mori (Mori San) inspecting a pot with his
son.
If you are interested in purchasing those films (DVD's) you can get them from
Bracker's Good Earth Clays or Steven at the Potters Shop. I sell them, but I
would prefer that people order them from those fine establishments. (Mrs.
Peeler asked me to help her convert them to DVD and distribute them.)
By the way, Mrs. Peeler is still living in Reelsville, IN and can tell many
wonderful stories of the adventures of Mr. Peeler filming at many studios in
Japan. Mrs. Peeler helped edit the films which were all spliced 16mm film
which they did themselves in their studio. Marj did all the music and is proud
to have been a big influence on the decision to keep them short and well under
30 min so they could be used effectively in a classroom situation. Whenever I
hear about the films on this list or other places I always let her know as is
warms her heart to know they are still being used and appreciated.
Marj Peeler has published many articles in P.M.I and Clay Times on some of
the unique techniques that they used during the 50 + years they made clay art.
These days she is doing mostly painting, paper art and illustrating childrens books.
She loves to tell people that the old 75 cubic foot gas kiln they used for years
suffered from "job burn out". They also fired a wood kiln for years too.
Richard Peeler was a wonderful potter, teacher, sculptor and artist. I miss him
everyday and try to remember the things that I learned from him. Most of all I
try use good design principles and craftsmanship as he would expect no less.
If anyone on the list has any Richard Peeler stories I'll be glad to print them
out and take them to Marj. She does not do E-mail, but she writes wonderful letters.
One of the wonderful things about this list is the opporitunity to keep the memories
of clay artists that have passed on alive. If you would like to contact her personally just write
me off list.
Best Regards from Indiana where we never really know what time it is,
"Chuck"
Charles T. Wagoner
cwagoner@nvc.k12.in.us cwag@abcs.com
http://www.abcs.com/cwag
http://www.billiecreekvillage.org
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