Lee Love on sun 9 sep 01
I received Kevin Hluch's new book a couple days ago. It is hard to put down.
The photos of the work are great and the writing is thought provoking. A
public Thanks Kevin! I'll write more about it later.
It comes at a good time for me. I've come to the point in my
apprenticeship where I am digesting what I have learned in the last 19 months
and am trying to decide where my work will go from here. It is good to
review work from home and think about the East/West symbioses that was created
when Leach, Yanagi and Hamada found each other. Many potters I know and
respect are represented in Kevin's book. I haven't seen their work in several
years and it is refreshing and inspiring to see photos of their new work.
I've said before, that while Hamada is a great influence on the
West, the West was very important in his and Yanagi's work. In the current
issue of The Studio Potter, Shimaoka says of Hamada's three years in England,
working with Leach: "Moreover, Hamada perceived from Leach the significance of
the inner self. Hamada felt the need to deepen the understanding of Leach's
philosophy of the mind and body. Upon his return to Japan, he decided to start
by finding a place in the mountains in order to live a healthy life, nurture a
healthy mind and create ideally healthy works. For that he chose Mashiko."
I hope to help keep this exchange open. I'll leave you with a Leach
quote from Kevin's new book:
"In a broad way the difference between the old potters and the new is
between unconsciousness within a single culture and individual consciousness of
all cultures."
--
Lee Love
Mashiko JAPAN Ikiru@kami.com
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