Take two, week 14

Hello Everyone,

I returned to Wales on Tuesday. While I was away Phil fired his gas kiln. We both had some nice results from it. I glazed my pots with tenmoku (a shiny black color) and nuka (a cool white color). I also tried some of Phil's ash glazes. He uses straw ash, pine ash and elm ash to achieve different results. Phil had some stunning bottles emerge from the kiln. He also re-fired some pieces from the wood kiln. The second firing really transformed them. Four of my teapots came out of the firing and only one pours well. Phil thinks the holes need to be bigger and the spout needs a sharper edge.

The week was spent getting ready for the Shoji Hamada sale and exhibition. In the exhibition catalog, Phil writes-

Shoji Hamada was arguably the most influential potter of the twentieth century. In short, he was a genius.Throughout his life his pots displayed a breadth and variety of expression that is unrivalled amongst his peers. In Japan he was awarded the title of Living National Treasure and his works have been collected by many of the greatest museums of the world. Shoji Hamada's pots are highly collectable and sought after....For this exhibition I will have around 70 pieces that will reflect the genius of Hamada along with pieces by his son Shinsaku Hamada and his most favoured apprentice Tatsuzo Shimaoka - over 100 pieces in all.

Hamada is one of Phil's biggest influences. Although he is Japenese, Hamada lived in St. Ives and helped launch the Leach Pottery. His work is said to bring east and west together. This exhibition is a wonderful learning experience for me because I have never seen this many of Hamada's pots. None of the pots have been shown before in the United Kingdom. The Hamada exhibition is in the upper showroom. There are 108 pots in total and they look fantastic. The forms range from plates to yunomis (tea drinking vessels) and bowls. There is even a small water dropper that is used for calligraphy. Often, Japanese pots will be sold in a pine box that has a woven cord attached. The potter usually signs the lid of the box. Most of the pots in this exhibition still have their boxes. The pieces are on display with the signed lid. Since Hamada did not sign his pots it is especially important to have the box lid for identification.

We spent a few days cleaning the upper and lower showrooms. We had to remove the existing pots and dust all the shelves. I cleaned glass cases and windows. Phil assembled a big shelving unit It was a little stressful moving the pots around because they are very valuable. Fortunately, there were no accidents! Once the show was up, we stepped back and admired it. I picked out my favorite pieces- a set of striped plates by Hamada. I also admired a large platter with bold, black glaze trailing on it.

The lower showroom has Phil's pots on display. It was interesting to compare Phil's pots with Hamada's. Although the two potters make distinctly differernt work, one could see the parallels. Phil uses some of the same decoration techniques such as iron brushwork and glaze trailing. Phil once showed me a video of Hamada decorating a pot. He was so quick and skilled in the way he applied the decoration. Phil allowed me to have a shelf for some of my work. I sold a few pieces on Saturday. The show opened on Saturday and will be open for viewing all this week. Customers cannot buy the pots until this Saturday. When the Rogers hosted this event several years ago, one man was so anxious to get the pot he wanted, he camped in his car out in the driveway all night! There is a numbered system for buying so the first person in line gets first choice, second person gets second choice, etc. Hopefully we don't get any campers this year!

I spent all day Friday baking for the sale. Last time over 100 people showed up so Lynne wants to be prepared. The Rogers are hoping it does not rain all week because all the cars are getting parked in their field. So far, it has been pretty gloomy and wet so Phil and Lynne are exploring alternative parking ideas. The last thing they want is a bunch of stuck cars and a muddy, torn up field. On Saturday, many people came to preview the show. Lynne and I were running around getting coffee and biscuits for everyone. There was a good response from the people who came. Many of them attended the last Hamada sale and were excited for this new event. Lynne has organized many people to come and help with all the different jobs such as parking, food and selling. I'm sure it will be a busy and exciting day!

Take care,

Kari