A conversation with
Kinichi Shigeno

At the Clay Sympostum this year, Kinichi offered to order some brushes from
Japan for those who showed an interest. The brushes arrived and I took the
opportunity to visit his studio when I picked up my order.

Kinichi’s studio is located in a building he built behind his house in Steveston.
Although it was built 24 years ago it looks brand new, it is bright and open,
taking advantage of well-placed windows and sky lights. ‘The building is divided
into two general areas; the first is the kiln room with the working studio in the
adjacent room. The shelving and wheel-work area look the same as the studios
I saw in Japan. The work area is open, well-organized and clean—again just like
studios in Japan. Kinichi has transported the Japanese work environment into his
Canadian studio. He also has a small display area set up just inside patio doors
at the back of his house. ‘This area is very well-organized and highlights his new
and traditional work.

We began our conversation by sharing common problems and issues with
clay the fact that the quality and consistency varies often with unexpected and
unwelcome results. No supplier seems to be immune from this problem. You are
of course advised to test each new shipment of clay before committing yourself
to it but who has the time to test all the glazes and forms in each new batch of
clay.

L: Your work is always new and fresh, what do you do to Reep your work alive?

K: I really feel that I am creating art work, craft work and 1 am always very
curious and continually challenging myself to create work that no one else has
made before. I find that approach keeps me challenged and interested.

L: What Cone do you work in?

K: I fire my current electric kilns to Cone 8 -10. However I would like to build a
large gas kiln so that I could create larger work.

L: You were trained in Japan; do you have any comments on how Canadian potters can learn
the craft today?

K: There are good schools and traning facilities in Canada, learning and pottery
mformation is easily accessible. Find a good ceramics program in a school, meet
good teachers, take workshops and connect to the pottery community.

Learning is done visually but I believe watching and practicing with minimal
dialogue is the key. Some dialogue is okay, but talking and not watching and
working doesn’t enhance the learning process.

This reminds me of a young man I knew in Japan, he was quite frail andif you
pushed him he fell over. He went away for two years and earned his black belt in
judo. Now when you push him, you move, but he doesn’t. ‘Training in martial arts
is more doing and almost no talking; you watch and learn by repeating what you
see. The change that occurred in him has always impressed me.

Of course it is still possible to become an apprentice to a potter in Japan.
There are so many potters available. You could also attend a school in Japan and
many Americans and others are dome just that. Japan is open to everyone; you
have an opportunity to meet people, and to enhance your training or experience.
There is one difference; in Japan they don’t teach you everything at once where
here in a workshop they show you everything that is involved in creating the final
project.

In Japan you would go to college and then become an apprentice. Your
apprenticeship could last three to 10 years depending on the teacher. During that
time you are taught not only all the pottery processes involved in being a ceramic
artist and the particular style of your teacher, but you would also be taught the
business side of survival. You learn how to build your business connections and

how to network as an independent potter.

There are fundamentally three types of ways
in which you can focus your ceramic work in
Japan. The first 1s traditional work, work related
to the tea ceremony or other traditional activities.
Second, there is the new ceramic sculptural
work, unrelated to the past which tends to be
modern and often non functional. The third is
manufactured pottery; this is work that is made
in a factory. It may be hand made or machine
made but it is still mass produced. This kind of
ceramics is developing a following if it is well
made and well designed.

Most of all you have to realize that in Japan,
recognizing crafts as works of art is built into
our bones. People will pay money to buy the
treasures that the potters produce; it is not
uncommon for a single tea bowl to sell for

$200,000.

L: How can we build this kind of recognition in
North America?

K: Canada does not have the history of the
tea ceremony; Canadian culture is different, it
doesn’t have a cultural history that is directly
related to objects made in clay. In companson
Japan has a number of esteemed people who
are revered for their work as potters and artists.
Some of these people have become “national
living treasures”. This is an acknowledgement
of the importance of ceramics as a legitimate
art form and to its place in the world of art. We
don’t have anything like that in Canada.

Dale Chilhully, the glass artist, is an example
of someone whose work has taken the next
step; we need someone i pottery to take a
similar leadership role.

The other difference is that in Japan there
ate a dozen major juried ceramic and craft
competitions each year. They are very tough;
lots of people try to get into the competition

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