Water container 

I stray away from the shape that I normally make with water containers , experimentation is interesting and in a craft that is so based on repetition sometimes hard to break .but hopefully good when one does 

As with 

As with most of the work I enjoy making , something to be used a connection between maker and user ...a connection to this life 

Making 

One tries and finds ways of making that bring out the feeling from clay , mistakes and misdemeanors , something that can be made easily from one ball of clay often finds more character from a different journey , I cannot say if this is the correct way of making as I do not believe in a correct way of making , but it is the way that I find most enjoyment from clay and this enjoyment of the process is fundamentally important for makers as it is mirrored in the end product .

Another layer 


Titanium luster 

The balance of silver and blue , tradition and the background to this piece....that which holds up the madness and fervor of decoration that  sometimes wants to wreak havoc with balance 

Another form of 

I am still learning this new madness ...this new color 

On-glaze 

The freedom of on-glaze decoration ..the smooth movement of brush over glaze so different to decoration on bisque ware , yet still it takes a few hours to get back into the feeling of this brushwork , one cannot stay to far away from a technique for to long ...repetition is paramount 

Decoration of tea bowls 

This process is more mundane than actually making the bowls , using a language of pattern and images one tries to imprint something individual to  the shape of the tea bowl something that is from ones era and hopefully modernity within tradition .

Turning teabowls 

The soul of the Teabowl can often be said to be in the foot ...when turning the foot one has to try and make a fresh cut full of energy whilst remaining quite . It is always a time of making that is full of anticipation . 


Freedom 

For me the time that I feel the most freedom in ceramics is making Teabowls ..... I use anti technique to make the bowls hopefully more free ... more clay like ...to try and take a snapshot of the wet clay even after it has been fired ...yes the movement of clay ..

Decoration 

Decoration  is so different to the way that I make my forms ...hopefully still trying to keep freedom within the brush stroke ..

Finding 

Finding the places between the poem for thoughts and keyholes to the world .

Old Technique from Tajimi

This is an old technique from Tajimi . It is the first time I have tried doing this style . It does look promising for the future . One always needs new -old ways of doing , just to throw a hammer in the works so to speak . 

Repetition 

Ceramics is unfortunately about repetition......I have no idea of how many pots I have made in my life ...the 20,000 clasical music hours I did nearly 2 decades ago ...one does not have to think just react ....feelings   ..yes repetition 

Guinomi 

Guinomi one of my favorite things to make .

In Japan many teabowl collectors first purchase a guinomi to see the feel of the pot when using before purchasing ...to me they are small teabowls ....but I think you get away with more in the smaller shape ,.....less gravity ...more freedom ..

Simplicity 

sometimes just simple works are fun and also take decoration well 


Memories 

I have always enjoyed making pots that can be held in the hand there is something that just draws me to small works , yet over the years I have started to enjoy making larger pieces perhaps because I have less control over them , I remember after being involved with a workshop in Mashiko with some Korean potters going back to the studio and making some pots like the one in the video above , drinking beer , sweating from the summer heat and just really trying to emulate a bit of what the Korean people were doing , my wife laughter at me and said it was funny  watching me try so hard and quite nearly failing but not failing , she told me I was Hetauma 下手馬 a fond memory. I think in life one just has to have fun , try and really not care that much , perhaps a maxim for my making style .


Hip Hop Momoyama

my style has always been Hip Hop Momoyama a phrase a gallery came up for the style of my work when I was living in Japan .

I think the theory of Hip Hop and what was happening in the Momoyama period work well together , one has to mix the old and the new together and make it something that can be recognized as itself . Fusion of thoughts and actions   

My love of tradition 

Has never faded over the years shapes that I just keep on going back to and hopefully refining and making them more mine . Yet still staying within the traditional bounds .

Sake bottle

there are many ways of making many shapes .

Here is an example of making a sake bottle with the base shape closed like a balloon, the balloon holding in the air lets you manipulate the clay that cannot be done otherwise .

There is a fluidity and playfulness in this technique .


A video from a exhibition and workshop in Tokoname 

My teacher Koie Ryoji was a surprise visitor , 

He is my ceramic hero-god 


Porcelain bowls ....Oribe style 

Throwing after many years of making becomes to natural .

One needs to challenge the clay , let it do what it wants and have accidents .

It is like running down a flight of stairs, one wants not to go so fast you fall down 

A better pace is where you are stumbling a bit but still have control , not to much control that every thing is tight  

This is my making style the heart of Oribe 


sake bottle Yobistugi style .

Joining together porcelain and stoneware clay whilst clay is still wet .



a Friedrich Nietzsche poem scratched into clay  

Cobalt oxide painting on top 



Using Format