HandMade

For the last couple of months I haven’t had much time to work. Which means I’ve been dreaming of that faraway between the sea and the mountains, working with local clays to the harmonious melody of birds and waves. Not yet…

There is always much to be excited about in the use of clays. I occasionally read about great masters of the past and present who never got sick of working with clay. There was always so much to learn and so many variables in the process that surprises were emminent in every firing and with every new body of clay, and every new idea. This, coupled with the observation that ceramic artists (and any artist worth their salt) seem hard-wired to experimentation. And when it comes to working with clay, there are a myriad of avenues one can proceed down.

. Perhaps the aim should simply be doing it the best one can, making an effort towards quality. In this I don’t mean perfection, that would imply perfect control of all the variables, perfect understanding inside every second of the process of making. Sincerity in the pursuit of the upper limits of one’s ability translating into authenticity in final product.

The great art and social critic John Ruskin said:

“There is hardly anything in this world that some man cannot make a little worse
and sell a little cheaper, . . . and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey.”

We could easily substitute the word ‘man’ for ‘factory’ in this quote. But for some time now, people have been returning to the handmade. The handmade in all areas of possible craft. Many people are now willing to spend that extra shilling on something which they can see came from someone, rather than only somewhere; where design is only part of the story of a piece; where plates have personality and cups, character; where functionality is a secondary consideration; where objects are bought with the heart, head has to pay for it; where inspiration bounces down a chain of transmission from something, to someone to others…

Jomon Ware and a great place to see it

While in Japan, I took a motorcycle trip one weekend to Hakone. My two main aims of the trip were to enjoy the Hakone Skyline road, a twisting ridgeline full of fantastic corners and smooth bitumen. My second aim was to visit the Hakone Museum of Art to view some 10,000 year old Jomon pottery. Large coiled forms dominated the interior of the museum, which were much larger and more detailed than I had imagined. Jomon pottery is widely accepted as being the oldest in the world. Some of it dating back to 14,000 BC. What really amazed me is that in the last 16000 years, much has remained the same regarding technique.

The Jomon pottery culture not only begins early, but it continues till well down into the first millennium BC, for the Bronze Age did not begin till very late in Japan. Thus the majority of Jomon pottery is of the third and second millennia BC, when it achieved numerous exotic forms. Jomon means twisted cord in Japanese, and the main characteristic is the twisted cord decoration. Many of these vessels form fine displays in museums round the world (Current Archaeology, UK).

Jomon, in Japanese means ‘twisted cord’. And as can be seen, the works are made with a twisted cord decoration.

Pottery of a similar age and style was also discovered in Russia, in the far eastern end, in the Vladivostok region. A theory suggested for this is that at the height of the Ice age, the sea levels would have been much lower. The northern island of Japan, Honshu, may have been joined by a land bridge to the mainland of Asia at this time. Early pottery has also been reported from sites in China.

This map shows the position of Odai Yamamoto at the extreme northen end of the main island of Japan, and also the Amur river sites in Russia which have also produced pottery made in the coldest part of the last Ice Age

For anyone in the area, I would highly recommend a visit to the Hakone Museum of Art , in Saitama prefecture to see some of the oldest pottery in the world. The setting is very beautiful and will enhance your experience of the museum.