Potters Guild of British Columbia 1329 Cartwright St., Granville Island Vancouver, B.C. V6H IRT (hth) HRA 9629 NOVEMBER 1993 ISSN 6319 812xX A SUMMER VISIT Lynn Johnsen and | were very fortunate this summer to be accepted to attend the ninth annual ['WCAT five-week workshop (July 25-August 31) in Tokoname, Japan. Tokoname. a city of 50,000 people located about 45 minutes south of Nagoya, is one of the old kiln areas in Japan, like Bizen, Seto, Tamba, Mino, or Shigaraki. There is clay everywhere, and everywhere you look, studios and factories abound. They were the first to mass-produce drainage pipes and the town is also known for small teapots made out of leeal red "Shaday” clay. Retaining walla and house foundations can be seen made from “shochu* (old distilled aloahal bottles) ar drainage pipes. The town was fascinating to explore on bikes, with all the narrow old streets, pottery paths and seawall easily accessible. The theme for PWCAT this year was “expression by use ofthe wheel”. Located in an ¢lementary school, the first two weeks involved working on the wheel with five different loral clay bodies and watching some amazing demonstrations by local potters. A day trip to Seto and another to some local Tokename studios were excellent. The weather is usually very hot and humid, but this summer the rainy season didn'tend, so getting pots todry required alot of effort packing, transperting land cracking) to local drying reoms. Firings included electric for the the shoday clay and two gas firings. Temoku, celadon, local ash, and a transparent glaze were used for the gas kiln (computerized shuttle kiln) at the Ceramic Training Centre. The focal point however was the anagama kiln that has literally been dug inte the side of a mountain, surrounded by a bamboo forest, The floor of the kiln is dirt on a slope with only the first part of the walls and roof litved with bricks. I[t took three full days to reach 1300 degrees Having a studio in the country is not without tts complications and hazards. Iwas cleaning up out behind the place recently when | noticed a heavy-set mallard waddle around the comer. On observing me, he merely tured. arwund, walked along the front and in the door of the studio, | was able to watch him through a window, The radio was tuned to CBC and the 6 o'clock mews was enlightening Canadians from coast to enast, He, the duck, was not overly excited or impressed. He did seem to be taking im all the work in progress and appeared Eenuinely interested. although it was admittedly difficult to assess. [ve never, -well perhaps once, observed anyone's studio from 8" above the floor, He wasn't bored, he not once yawned. Perhaps ducks don't yawn. He had a lovely newtrality about him, neither going into flights of hyper- criticism nor taking off into wild exhortations of appreciation or artificial pandering. And neither, thank God. did you feel he might break into a dissertation on “Clay: Art or Craft?" This. one felt. he would leave to those quacks who were flying so high that they suffered from oxygen deprivation. KINGSMILL'S INDUCTION He listened to the news. listened to "As li Happens”, and tothe repeat of CBC's “Morningside”, After a while he sat down. The studio lights were on. 1 was reluctant to barge in to my own studio for fear that he might panic ariel fly inte a lot of stuff on the shelves, 1 was also befuddled by what lassumed Would bea language barter, What do you say toa duck who has taken over your shuadio? Over the years a lot of turkeys have come by, but nevera duck. Why had he left the soft grass for my concrete floor? Was he there for the CBC radio? Was he the reincarnation of some great oranonymous potter who longed for the rotting clay smell ofa workshop? Was he merely wanting to be a potter for awhile to escape the deadly ratine of being a duck? At nine oclock, | slipped a hand in the door and turned off the lights. In the moming he was gone, leaving behind a couple of modest droppings which I have decided not to take as a critical appraisal. They will be perceived as non-malignant acts of nature, and he will be welcome back anytime he's In the neighbourhood centrigrade, The pieces in the first part of the kiln had a lot of ash deposited on them. There are only about six of these kilns still in existence in all Japan, so we felt wery fortunate to have witnessed such a unique firing. The symposium culminated with an exhibition at the annual ceramic festival and a gallery exhibit at the lecal train station. The [WCAT program is sponsored by the local chamber of commerce and involves an amazing amount of volunteer effort by local citizens. This year 18 people from all over the world (Hong Kong. Australia, NZ, England, USA, larael, and Malaysia lived with a local family. This volunteer home stay program provided 2 meals a day and wonderful Japanese hospitality. Tokoname and the TWCAT program waa truly a wonderfial experience, Cathi Jefferson