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craig on hamada

updated sat 21 jul 12

 

mel jacobson on thu 19 jul 12


all i can ever tell anyone is what i was told and
saw with my own eyes.

i quoted him.
i met the woman in 1972.
she was brushing pots as i spoke with her.
of course mr. hamada was aging at this point a bit.
like all master potters, they are very involved with every step.
but the shear numbers of pots made per week were massive.
(he laughed out loud when he spoke of his `great movies`.)


i counted 14 people around the workshop and area and home.
not all were making pots. some could have been
just helpers.

i was there for about 8 hours.
i have no reason to stretch or change the truth.
mel
of course i feel that a great deal has been written over the
years to romanticize the japanese production method. (national treasures)
it was just bloody hard work, long hours and perfection
was the main emphasis. they had an amazing work ethic.

but, the bottom line is still...they were potters. and they
experienced the same hell that we experience every day.
bad firings, glaze flaws, bad help, stupid mistakes.
it was never close to perfect.
i saw and heard mr. uchida have a few fits....i had my own.
for me, it was like u.s. army boot camp. it was never easy
\or simple...and then add the language barrier...man, i invite
anyone to go do it, or try it. it was never happy go lucky time.
but, the reward was immense.


from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html

Craig Edwards on fri 20 jul 12


Well Mel: You were there so I guess that I'll take your word on it. A
Korean woman did Hamada Shoji's brush work.


On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 6:44 PM, mel jacobson wrote:

> all i can ever tell anyone is what i was told and
> saw with my own eyes.
>
> i quoted him.
> i met the woman in 1972.
> she was brushing pots as i spoke with her.
> of course mr. hamada was aging at this point a bit.
> like all master potters, they are very involved with every step.
> but the shear numbers of pots made per week were massive.
> (he laughed out loud when he spoke of his `great movies`.)
>
>
> i counted 14 people around the workshop and area and home.
> not all were making pots. some could have been
> just helpers.
>
> i was there for about 8 hours.
> i have no reason to stretch or change the truth.
> mel
> of course i feel that a great deal has been written over the
> years to romanticize the japanese production method. (national treasures=
)
> it was just bloody hard work, long hours and perfection
> was the main emphasis. they had an amazing work ethic.
>
> but, the bottom line is still...they were potters. and they
> experienced the same hell that we experience every day.
> bad firings, glaze flaws, bad help, stupid mistakes.
> it was never close to perfect.
> i saw and heard mr. uchida have a few fits....i had my own.
> for me, it was like u.s. army boot camp. it was never easy
> \or simple...and then add the language barrier...man, i invite
> anyone to go do it, or try it. it was never happy go lucky time.
> but, the reward was immense.
>
>
> from: minnetonka, mn
> website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
> clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
>



--
Make Good Pots
~Craig
New London MN
http://woodfiredpottery.blogspot.com/