On Saturday, the main reason we went to Mashiko was so that Leiya could show us how she uses the pottery wheel. In her school it sounds like she has unlimited access to the wheel and clay and she claims that she made more pieces of pottery than any one else in the school this year. She learned how to throw pieces (I'm not sure what this means) and she got very proficient in using glazes too.In Mashiko, although there were many pottery "workshops" open to tourists, most of the activities were for painting pictures on ready made dishes and cups, and doing some freehand modeling with a lump of clay. That wasn't what Leiya wanted to do so we asked here and there for possibilities of using the wheel. Finally we found a place that would just let us play around for an hour. Leiya and I sat down at the wheels. (Leiya insisted I had to be part of this) Tetsu napped on the broken down sofa.
Well, all I can say is that I'll stick with patchwork! Pottery is not my forte! I kept pushing and smashing and I never could find the middle of the clay that whirled around under my hands. This is a lot harder than it looks! Obviously different forms of art strike different areas of the heart. In thinking about it I can see that I like to have an idea of what I'm making (a pattern) and I like to put in gradual amounts of time (piecing, sewing, quilting) and I like to see my progress as I go (piles of blocks, a row of quilting). With pottery, I couldn't figure out what I was making. Is this going to be a dish, a cup, a vase? (a blob?) I couldn't visualize it or figure out how to use my hands. I couldn't even tell if is was done or not! It didn't seem like a gradual process of effort. It just "came" to Leiya and she would declare that she'd finished. I have a feeling that this is the difference between an artist's heart and a laborer's heart. I create a lot of patchwork, but I don't think I'm very creative. The artist has a sense, an intuition, a vision of what he is making.
I don't think I explained that very well. It is not love or lack of love. As a potter loves creating and carressing the clay, I love making quilts and feeling the fabric and seeing the colors too. But it is a different process and I don't mean just different materials and tools. I tried to explain this to Tetsu and he pointed out that I've been doing patchwork for over 20 years and only spent one hour at the pottery wheel. It was sort of presumptious of me to think I could understand this art with only a few minutes experience.
Leiya did make us a bowl that will be fired in a month or two and unfortunately she won't be able to do any of the glazing herself but we did get a chance to watch her and have a slightly better understanding of what she does and loves.
11 comments:
Her lovely face looks so filled with peace and contentment. I'm happy that you discovered a place where Leiya could work happily, it's food for the soul of the artist.
That looks like so much fun. I'm glad you got to share that with Leiya.
I have admiration for potters who can create things of beauty from an unpretty lump of clay. Fascinating.
I think you sell yourself short -- you are creative! You may choose to show your creativity by creating something someone else has done before by following a pattern, but you are creative in that you choose what fabrics, what colours, to use where -- how you want them to interact. I think of it like cooking -- some follow a recipe and never create a new dish, others are more comfortable with experimentation. Both are creative encounters as in both the cook is putting her heart into the dish, the creating is happening at a different "level" though...
And Tetsu is right -- an hour at a pottery wheel isn't a true indicator, would you throw someone who'd never quilted onto a sewing machine and expect them to succeed with some errors...
What a fabulous experience for the three of you together. Don't your children gain a different stature in your eyes when you see them attempt and succeed at something that you can't do - a very topsy-turvy feeling for a parent but so special. She looks so comfortable in that role, how wonderful she could demonstrate her skill to you both - (ps take heart Tanya - I could never get the hang of ceramics in my art classes either)
Oh and 'throw' pieces means just that - it's the act of 'throwing' that initial piece of clay onto the wheel to centre it and then forming the pot from there as the wheel spins
I kept pushing and smashing and I never could find the middle of the clay that whirled around under my hands. This is a lot harder than it looks!
This is kind of building on the previous comment, but what you describe here is the basis of "throwing" - maybe not well, but throwing. (I never graduated to a wheel, I just did slab work - think ginger bread houses... roll it out & form it...)
I know what you mean. I can make quilts, and do a good job and I love them, however I am definately a copier as opposed to someone who can create something new and great without a pattern.
タニヤさま
レイヤちゃんが陶芸をやっていたことは知りませんでした。
益子で陶芸・・やってみたいような気もしますがタニヤさんと同じで、私は布が好きなような気がします。（私は木工も嫌い）
さて、私は明日８時３５分から１ｃｈ
生活ほっとモーニングに出ます。
パッチワークには９月から参加しようかなっ。
Oh Tanya! She looks so happy!I'm always amazed when my children excel and love things I am not good at/would never really consider TRYING> This was SO evident when my daughter learned to fly a glider (SHUDDER....I will not go on an airplane with NO ENGINE!) Not only did she LOVE it, she went on to become an instructor!
You have been so good trying.
ciao ciao
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