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Thought of the session: as Vikram said, people ask where pots come
from all the time. People like to feel a connection to the artist who
made the pot, which brings us full circle to D’Arcy’s quote at the
beginning of the session. What if...we are also creatures who need to
use things that are created by hand? Potters and our work would gain
greater respect (and popularity) that’s a good thing on so many levels.

Takeshi Yasuda:

I must admit that I went into this session not knowing a thing about
him. I thought that there would be some Japan worship going on, but
I couldn't have been more wrong. Takeshi talked about how he has
lived in England for 40 years and so he doesn‘t think he can really
be considered a Japanese potter. He started the demo session very
quietly, getting his clay on the wheel and starting to throw. Once he
started talking, however, wow, my head was spinning. Here are some
highlights:
¢ “If you want your own expression, you cant use another's

technique.” Takeshi talked about training in Mashiko, Japan, mass

producing pots. However, when he works now he doesn’t have a

fancy technique. He just tries to be easy with the clay.

* “Unless you have that struggle before hand, unless you have a
problem, you don’t get a solution.” He talked about the most
important part in the struggle in finding your own style as being
clarifying the problem, writing it down. Put your observations
into words (rather than sentences), together with a few drawings.
Conversation is also a very important part of the process, constantly
redefining your meaning as you hear the words coming out of your
mouth. And then really listen when others respond to you — many
people are thinking about what they're going to say next instead of
listening to the other person involved in a conversation.

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“What if [the] wheel is not a tool for mass production, what if it
is a tool for expression?” Takeshi asked. He then quickly stood up,
pulled the bat off the wheel (he'd thrown a pot with a thick rim
and a much thinner area of wall below it) and threw the top of
the pot off onto the floor! It almost felt like he was going to throw
the pot, bat and all, into the audience. The resulting pot had an
interesting torn rim — so that’s how he makes all of those pieces I’ve
seen online. (For more on Takeshi’s throwing process and photos,
see Gillian McMillan’s blog entry on the session here: http://www.
gillianmcmillan.com/blog/2013/03/26/takeshi-yasuda)

Thought of the session: “Art is not dangerous; it won't kill you.” In
any medium you are working in, think about this early, when you are
developing your skill. You should be pushing the limits — what is there
to lose? Takeshi mused that, maybe, people are in survival mode (in
nature, you're more likely to survive if you follow the crowd), and that
is why they don’t tend to push limits, even when it’s not a life or death
situation. But, he says, his face visibly brightening, "Recently, many
more people are working expressively, less safely.”

At the end of the day, in Takeshi’s keynote address, he explained that
even traditional styles can become beautiful or exciting when they are
adapted by people thinking in a new way. Anything can be a point of
departure for expression—you don’t have to come up with something
completely new.

And that’s the idea that I really came away with from the symposium:
an urge to ask myself, "What if...”

Takeshi Yasuda, finished work on display during the symposium.
Photo by Gillian McMillan.

Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - May 2043

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