Here are some select pots from the Tableware section of the show. The first one is the winner of the Tableware section, next are two close ups of my old Sensei, and dear friend Takano san, I placed two pictures because her work was just so good, both technically very difficult, and also the paintings are really well done as well. She got a special recognition from the judges. third is the work of Kudo san, who along with Takano san were the two other Amigos in my first show back two years ago. They're both really excellent artists who were kind enough to take me under their wing as it were. I really can't say enough how much I appreciate their friendship. The last picture is of your's truly. Another teapot, this time I was going for east meets west, a "Western" style teapot with a kind of rough, kind of "Bizen-ish" surface. I don't have the facilities to do real Bizen, but anyways. Here it is. I hope you enjoyed it.

Recently

I was admitted to a show at the National Art Museum in Ropongi. It was really fun, and exciting to have been a part of something that conveys such a high level of prestige. It's an honor really. here are some of the other people's work.

Some pots from the Kama

Just some stuff that came back recently, I should point out that they are all small. Like the size of a Tokuri, aka a Japanese sake bottle, and they are all about 500 grams give or take. The last one with the handle is a teapot, we don't have this kind in the West, it doesn't have a lid, or a strainer, if you are interested in how it works, ask me question in the comments.

More Vases.

...and a pair of wine glasses. Which, I've got to say are a pain to make, throwing on the thick base from which the foot is later trimmed is kind of tricky because the base needs to be narrow, trimming the foot is also difficult. Everything has to be as close to "perfect" as possible. This is a good challenge for me to work on getting better at, but right now I'm preoccupied with the vase shape and with doing this line art on it, I've forgotten the name for this off hand, both in English, and Japanese.

Vases

As you can see, from the picture on the bottom, the glaze was more runny than I anticipated. This resulted in the loss of 3 or 4 vases. I was so upset at the time, I gave up on vases, and started making coffee cups. But, I'm back to making vases again, and I think I'm improving.

Vases

Making vases to try out these new crystal matte glazes, and also I really want to throw big "egg" shaped vessels with long spouts in porcelain one day soon.  Right now, I'm working with half and half because my studio doesn't carry porcelain. As for big "egg" shaped vases, I think I'm about 1/3 of the way there.  The top picture is 2 kilos. and about 12 inches tall. I'd love to get to about 2 1/2 feet tall. 

Crystals at Salon du Flame

Two small lidded jars that have a crystal matte glaze on them. The Green/blue is called Sado Matte and the red is called Tetsu Aka. I really like them both and they have inspired me to try out these glazes on some vase shapes. I am using these glazes at my new studio that I just transfered to, it's closer to home, it's much bigger, and more modern, and it has glazes that I really like. This place is called Salon du Flame. I already really love the place.