incorporates possibilities for the fire and its ash deposits fo work Some magic. As he worked, he talked in Japanese and was brilliantly translated by David Lloyd from Kwantlen. David had an excellent rapport and was able to communicate muances with great skill, humanity and humour, Listening was a special experience as one had to watch and listen to Yukio for the nuance and then David for meaning.

Before really starting properly Yukio quickly made some Slabs for later use: a quick slice up, any old how, bashed flatfish with a 2x4 and then a quick roll between canvas. These would be later torn and joined into sculptural vases as a sort of three dimensional collage. The scale and elan of these was inspiring.

On the wheel, Yukio made a senes of different style tea bowls and other articles for the tea ceremony. Normally throwing on a traditional Japanese wheel, the shimpo was “too good" and batts were put onto the wheel head with careless blobs of clay to give a charming wobble to the slow throwing (but the bowls kept lining up).

MADE IN CLAY There will be a meeting of Made In Clay “96 participants on September 21, 1995 at the Guild offices on Granville Island at 6:30pm, The purpose of the mecting is to organize working committees for implementing the “96 event. All registrants should try to attend this important meeting.

Alt one point throwing a lid for a water jar which veered and teetered wildly off centre, one could fee! the group tension as they reached for their mental needle toots. Yukio's comment was, “Well, maybe it will look better tomorrow,” When he did return to it and carved the edges to fit the container it was breathtakingly right.

Some tea bowls retumed to the next day were traditionally trimmed in the Korean way with a single deep spiral cut that left the raised pip in the centre, (The bowls had been thrown with a small depression inside for the remaining tea leaves.) Other tea bowls had their feet facet cut by hand with a huge home make wooden dagger and yet others were tom and repaired with pieces torn from other bowls.

Yukio talked about his kilns being “bad boy" kilns that needed understanding, skill and coaxing and about preferring difficult clay because it meant that he couldn't take anything for granted. There were all sorts of other life parallets in his momentary like it baing easier io make friends with someone smaller than yourself as an anslogy to quite, unflashy pots that own their imperfections.

We had slides of work from his own tozan and of the building and firing of the Flagstaff tozan and as a wrap up activily Yukio prepared some small totem blocks and encouraged everyone to work into these so that they could be in the first Nanaimo tazan firing.

It is a pity that more people did not take advantage of this workshop, though one person did come down from Alaska, as Yukio's whole approach to the material, process and firing and how it was all part of nis life and everything made the two days with this diminutive, 70 year old, truly memorable,

KEITH RICE-JONES

July 1995 Gallery Sales

Functional Ware: Total Number of pieces Average Value: $40.96

Figurative Work: Total Number of pieces: Average Value: $234.72

Raku Work: Total number of pieces: 5 Average value: $78