Works by Mike Weber : 10th Firing of "Rocket Thing"

Mike Weber modified one of his kilns in this summer.
Now it has doubled size of the fire box, it can create much stronger flame.
The works are from his 10th firing of "Rocket Thing" kiln.
Rectangular platter, Tea Bowl, Tea caddie, Sake cups are at Sara.

 

Ruri&Eiko Exhibition "Microsccopic Craft from KAGA 2014" 10/24 -10/26

Ruri Takeuchi & Eiko Tanaka Duo Exhibition
- Microscopic Craft from KAGA 2014 –
October 24th Fri. - 26th Sun.
Opening Reception October 24th Fri. 6pm-8pm

It will be our fifth year presenting the Kaga Kutani Exhibition with young artists that generate new traditional crafts. Ruri Takeuchi, the Kutaniware porcelain painting artist, and Eiko Tanaka, wood turning and lacquer artist, have returned with greater force than ever before.

Ruri Takeuchi works with new colors, and paints animals with vivid expressions on pieces she creates by hand. Eiko Tanaka turns her lacquerware pieces, producing shapes from the sensation and feeling of the immediate moment.
With the future of traditional Kaga craft at the hands of these two craftswomen, they have created new artwork imaging “the present”. It will be something worthwhile to see.

This will be the eighth in a series of event to celebrate Sara Japanese Pottery’s 25th years anniversary. Please join us for the Opening Reception on Friday, October 24th, from 6-8pm. The exhibition will be open for three days, during which the artists, Ruri and Eiko, will be present.

* Open Hour *
October 24th, Fri.  10 am - 8 pm   Artist Reception  6pm - 8pm
October 25th, Sat. 12 pm - 6 pm
October 26th, Sun. 12 pm - 6 pm

*Their past exhibition at Sara, please click the below.
Exhibition 2010 - Next Generation of Porcelain Paintings -
Exhibition 2011 - The way of Tea Ceremony of KAGA -
Exhibition 2012 - Traditional Art and Craft from KAGA -
Ruri&Eiko Duo Exhibition 2013 - Microscopic Craft from KAGA -

Ruri Takeuchi is an artist who paints exquisitely fine motifs on porcelain pieces - boxes, incense holders, or small figurines.
A native of Nara prefecture, in Japan, Ruri studied at Kyoto's School of Traditional Arts and Crafts.  Upon graduation, she apprenticed under Chousa Yamamoto, a renown porcelain artist, and became entranced by traditional Kaga crafts and Kutani porcelain painting.  She would spend four years learning and developing her techniques in porcelain painting.

In 2010, Sara Japanese Pottery held a group exhibition, "KAGAKUTANI in NY 2010," where she premiered her vivid designs as an independent artist, not as a learner. "Microscopic Craft from KAGA 2014" will be Ruri's fifth time showing in New York.

“With each individual work, including the title, I condense a single universe into that piece.  The motifs are mostly inspired by nature, and I find it most satisfying when someone is able to look at my work and experience a soft breeze, hear the voice of a bird, or recreate a feeling from some story.”
-Ruri Takeuchi

Her works are as she describes them.  She encapsulates a single scene from nature into a design with lush green leaves surrounding a marten or rabbit, or an elegant expression of a bird with glamorous feathers.
Her brushstrokes, the point tapered to a single hair, paint thin and wispy lines.  It is with her steady hand and delicate brush that she draws the outline and applies the color to fill the design, and which compels her precise and beautiful craft.

On a horizontal lathe, Eiko Tanaka mounts a piece of wood.  As the lathe turns, she uses her sharpened utensils to carefully carve out a light and delicate form.  From a traditional form of artistry, her exquisite skill and confidence comes from experience and passion; she listens and reacts to the wood while shaping its surfaces.
She creates a perfect curve only by the sensation in her fingertip when her self-made tools come into contact with the quickly spinning wood.
The wood she uses, such as Black Persimmon tree, is scarce.  It is preserved for over 20 years meticulously treated and dried, waiting for the perfect moment to be handled.  Oftentimes, the apprentice will inherit this wood from their mentor - it is simultaneously a moment of burden and of great responsibility.
Eiko's refined techniques are guided by the beauty of the wood grain, which radiates from beneath the layer of lacquer.  Every work, though contemporary, is every bit intertwined with its history.

Take the piece into your hand, and you are grasping the voice of the wood.

Works of Tim Rowan Exhibition "Continuity"

Thank you for coming to Tim Rowan's exhibition " Continuity ".
The show was a great success, we are glad to have this opportunity to showcase Tim Rowan's recent works.
We still have many pieces  from the exhibition, please stop by when you are around.

TOMORROW 6pm-8pm Tim Rowan "Continuity" 10/3-10/5

We are pleased to announce that Sara Japanese Pottery will present the seventh in a series of event to celebrate our 25th years anniversary.
The artist, Tim Rowan, who’s stalwart designs inspired by natural clay and rock, says,

“I start with a particular shape, usually derived from some industrial relic. Then I begin working. A connection develops with the material and process and, at the best of times, I am no longer directing but responding to some sort of inner feeling or drive. In a sense it then is a spiritual practice and the material and process become irrelevant. The forms could be anything but they resonate a certain power that gives the work strength.”

 –Tim Rowan

The event is Tim Rowan’s first solo exhibition at Sara Japanese Pottery. We present his newest works to you with great pleasure and excitement.
Please join us for our artist reception TOMORROW from 6pm until 8pm.

* Open Hour *
October 3rd, Fri.  10 am - 8 pm   Artist Reception  6pm - 8pm
October 4th, Sat. 12 pm - 6 pm
October 5th, Sun. 12 pm - 6 pm

Tim Rowan was born in 1967 in New York City and grew up in Connecticut along the shore of Long Island Sound.  His art education began during college, receiving a BFA from The State University of New York at New Paltz before journeying to Japan for 2 years to apprentice with ceramic artist Ryuichi Kakurezaki. Upon his return he worked briefly in studios in Massachusetts and New York before receiving his MFA from The Pennsylvania State University. 


He established his kiln and studio deep in the woods of the Hudson Valley in 2000, where he lives with his wife and son. He has worked as an artist-in-residence at several studios, including the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, ME, and the Fuping Ceramic Art Village, Shaanxi Provence, China. His works are are seen internationally in solo and group exhibitions and in museum collections, including the Currier Art Museum in Manchester, NH, and the Fuller Craft Museum, in Brockton, MA. Most recently, Tim was awarded the prestigious Janet Mansfield Ceramic Award from the International Ceramic Magazine Editors Association, 2013.  

 

Tim Rowan Exhibition "Continuity " 10/3 -10/5

Tim Rowan
- Continuity -
October 3^rd Fri.  – October 5^th Sun.
Artist Reception October 3^rd Fri. 6pm-8pm

We are pleased to announce that Sara Japanese Pottery will present the seventh in a series of event to celebrate our 25th years anniversary.
The artist, Tim Rowan, who’s stalwart designs inspired by natural clay and rock, says,

“I start with a particular shape, usually derived from some industrial relic. Then I begin working. A connection develops with the material and process and, at the best of times, I am no longer directing but responding to some sort of inner feeling or drive. In a sense it then is a spiritual practice and the material and process become irrelevant. The forms could be anything but they resonate a certain power that gives the work strength.”

 –Tim Rowan

The event is Tim Rowan’s first solo exhibition at Sara Japanese Pottery. We present his newest works to you with great pleasure and excitement.

* Open Hour *
October 3rd, Fri.  10 am - 8 pm   Artist Reception  6pm - 8pm
October 4th, Sat. 12 pm - 6 pm
October 5th, Sun. 12 pm - 6 pm

 Tim Rowan was born in 1967 in New York City and grew up in Connecticut along the shore of Long Island Sound.  His art education began during college, receiving a BFA from The State University of New York at New Paltz before journeying to Japan for 2 years to apprentice with ceramic artist Ryuichi Kakurezaki. Upon his return he worked briefly in studios in Massachusetts and New York before receiving his MFA from The Pennsylvania State University.  

He established his kiln and studio deep in the woods of the Hudson Valley in 2000, where he lives with his wife and son. He has worked as an artist-in-residence at several studios, including the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, ME, and the Fuping Ceramic Art Village, Shaanxi Provence, China. His works are are seen internationally in solo and group exhibitions and in museum collections, including the Currier Art Museum in Manchester, NH, and the Fuller Craft Museum, in Brockton, MA. Most recently, Tim was awarded the prestigious Janet Mansfield Ceramic Award from the International Ceramic Magazine Editors Association, 2013.
 

Murrini Glass by Fujiko Enami

Enami Fujiko is murrini glass artist in Japan.

She is working at Ushio Studio in Miura with her husband Ushio Konishi who #1 artist for lace glass technique in Japan.

TONIGHT Opening : Hanako Nakazato Exhibition 9/3-9/6

Hanako Nakazato
- Migration -

September 3^rd Wed. – 6^th Sat.
Artist Reception TONIGHT 6pm-8pm

Sara Japanese Pottery will present an exhibition of new ceramic work by Hanako Nakazao as the sixth in a series of events to celebrate our 25th years anniversary.
This exhibition will feature side-by-side works made in both of her studios, one in Karatsu, Japan and the other in Union, Maine. Like a migrating bird, Nakazato travels and works each year in two different countries. This regular shift between her native culture in Japan and her adopted culture in the USA infuses her work with elements at once familiar and foreign. The exhibition runs September 3, 2014 through September 6, 2014.
An opening reception will be held TONIGHT from 6-8pm.

A 14th generation potter from Japan, Hanako’s technique and philosophy are rooted in the ceramic traditions of Karatsu, Japan. But years spent living in the West has influenced her shapes and surfaces. She makes a wide variety of simple functional forms. Her work is carried in many galleries and shops throughout Japan and the US.
Nakazato expresses her philosophy as a potter saying, “Every day is different. Just like you change what you wear based on different seasons, occasions and your mood, I hope you enjoy the changes in everyday life through how you use pottery.”

* Open Hours *
September 3rd 10am-8pm
September 4th 10am-7pm
September 5th 10am-7pm
September 6th 12am-6pm