Collage of days flown bye

Fine friends came and were feasted, traveled, loved, and spoken to in great depth about all things that are, were, and will be their lives. We had such a lovely time. Thank you for coming Geoff and Brenna!

Test season started once more, and there (just like every morning) is the first mug ever to come out of the kiln here in Susaki. 

A few new forms have been thrown and are shown drying in the early spring sun (which is so wonderful!) The plum blossoms are also out in for these days, and it makes the coolness of winter 

seem like a distant memory. 

And lastly these little guys found their way into Geoff and Brenna's bags and will hopefully be used in their months to come as they renter the working American world in the old big apple. 

More to come this week I promise. It's great to be getting back in the studio even if it is just for a bit. 

More to come! Go make things! 

Wrapping up and what to say.

Tonight I'm baking chocolate chip cookies. My Japanese oven is tiny and can only fit one small cookie sheet at a time. The warms of the oven will help my little kitchen with no insulation feel more homie against the cold that seeps in through the little gaps and nooks where the doors and window in my apartment. Tomorrow those cookies will be like a badge of honor for the 6 students in my pottery class. A reward for finishing the dirty, dusty job of deep cleaning the whole studio and wedging as much of the reclain bucket's wet clay as they can possibly complete in 2 50 minute periods. A prize for being the class has been my reason for loving Fridays. Their energy, patience, and willingness to put up with a non Japanese speaking art teacher-ish guy, trying desperately to share his passion for wheel thrown potter was simply FANTASTIC! Some of them progressed far beyond I progressed in my first course of ceramics. Some of them just learned that pottery isn't their favorite form of expression, but those students never let their struggles disrupt class or dishearten them. They just kept trying over and over again, still blew me away at the school assembly by thanking me infront of the whole school. Yep. . . they got me. In front of the whole student and teacher body they thanked me (IN PERFECT ENGLISH!), and the little jerks made me cry. They even all worked together to make me a tiny, heavy, overly glazed plate that firmly demonstrates many of the things I told them not to do when making pottery, BUT IT'S TOTALLY MY NEW FAVORITE PLATE!

So tonight I will post some pictures of a few peices from the last firing, and I'll stay up late baking their cookies. I'll spend all day tomorrow wondering how to adiquatley tell them that they've been some of the best kids I've worked with. I worry that I won't be able to adiquately thank them for being the great kids they are. I have taught these kids for 3 years now, and after next week they won't come to school again until graduation day on March 1st. I doubt they'll ever find and read this, but just in case.

You guys have been a real blast! Your spirits are like an unquenchable fire, and it burns brightest when you laugh and smile. I've watched you grow up (though there is always more growing to go) and lay the foundations of really good basic potting skills. You always push me to learn more Japanese, and think of more ways to communicate. You were my wonderful ever willing testing ground! You make me remember why laughter in the classroom is paramount, and why sometimes lesson plans are there to drop like an ugly off centered, bone dry coffee mug you just trimmed through the bottom of, and just go where the wheel takes you. Thank you for an excellent year! I hope you keep creating and expressing yourself in any way possible! You're the best.

we'll see you next week folks.

Fired / tired

Well today was just a dreary Monday like we've not had for some time. The sun never quite woke from its slumber today, and the promise of rain hung heavy about Susaki all day. The days themselves are getting shorter and shorting, and it is now no longer light at 5:30 when I return home from work. BUT! The light of a newly repaired kiln and successful bisque fire is brightening my days (along with all enumerable joys that fill all the non ceramic centered portions of life). The bisque was a success and the students work that got fired all survived ta boot! We've stated the glazing cycle and should be completing it within a week or so. I recently was informed that the gallery on the eastern side of Kochi where some of my work is on display has been selling several of my pots! So that was a pleasant surprise to overhear. Enjoy the photos and we'll see you as soon as I have more new work to post. Here's some pictures of some of the various finished works ready for glazing and some of the new work that has just reached the bone dry stage and will go in with the next bisque fire.

2/2 Make!

Well now that you know of two weeks ago's happenings, it's time for a recap of last week. So last week was midterm at Susaki High School. This meant that my time was largely dedicated to studio time. However, with the kiln on the fritz I didn't feel hugely motivated to just create, create, create. I spent a huge chunk of my week cycling through the happy step bye step of scoop from reclaim bucket, dry on plaster bricks, wait, wedge, bag, and repeat. So help me, that bucket is empty! Although, today's pottery class began the battle anew with their bowls of slip.

Tuesday was a really productive day of wheel work. I worked specifically towards honing in on a bowl shape I am rather fond of after warming up with some yunomi and smaller coffee bowls. It was one of those rare days where centering came easily, and the clay and my hands just seemed to be on the same wavelength.

Also in the good news bracket since my post this morning I have just been informed in a friendly little message that the kiln was fixed today, and the pots are firing as I type these happy words. I trimmed the pots pictured above after school, and prepped the last of the reclaim clay for the students use throughout the week. We'll be onto a glazing cycle by the end of this week, and that means the best part is only a few weeks away! Nothing's better than opening up a fresh glaze firing, and, preferably, cradling the still slightly warm pots in your hands for the first time as finished works. I love it! Here's to hoping we're back to our regularly planned life hence forth eh! Come back on Thursday for more updates. Have a great week!

Inspiration!

Happy new work Thursday friends, and may it be a lovely one where ever you may be. Above are the pieces going into the kiln tomorrow after school. Along with some of the new textures you've already seen, I plan on trying something new with all of the work shown. Not only are the glaze combinations new, but also (after reading a few wonderfully tempting articles in new a Ceramics Monthly) some new firing methods I simply can't go without trying. I'll fill you in on all the specifics once the outcome is revealed next week. 

*warning to readers and the blog writer himself* THIS LITTLE ADVENTURE MAY YEILD ABSOLUTELY ZERO OR POTENTIALLY HORRIBLE RESULTS! 

Now that, that little morsel has been discharged into the great wilderness of web space I want to share some photos that show what I wish I could make my glazes do. The color combinations, the cracking in the ice, the contrast of chipping thick paint and wood grain, and all the other wonderful dramatics which occur without hardly any human effort are the things I wish I could transfer onto my pots.   

Only more practice and patience will see me to this goal. More to come. Happy weekends. 

Golden

Well folks it's the end of Golden Week here in Japan, and this means the rust is shaking off from 4 days off work. I just put the 38th knotch in my 88 Temple belt. Tuesday and Thursday's post didn't happen, and for that I am most sorry. To make it up to you I want to fill your eye holes with photos!

One of my new glazes from the last firing on some yunomi.  

One of my favorite tea bowls I've produced. My mother managed to spirit it away with her back to the far flung soils of the good old U.S.A. 

Serving plate with a surprise splash of green and red. 

Some new coffee mugs  

It took two full 6 to 7 hour days of cycling to get there, but this is where I spent my 4 day holiday thinking on adventures and pots to come!

And lastly a friendly reminder to all you local fans out there that May 20th I will be at Hata Fest on Irino Beach selling my work along with many other lovely ALT artists and creators of scrumptious sweets. Come hang out at the beach, talk, and buy some pottery! Hata Fest will also be goign on on May 19th as a music only day. So, if you aren't like me and have to go to the Kochi Prefectural Sports Tournament on that Saturday, get yur buns down to the west coast and soak up some sun (fingers crossed on that one) and culture! 

We now return to your regularly scheduled programming

The mountains are bursting into vibrant greens after yesterday's Spring storm, and the remnants of cherry blossums are a pleasant change to the debris that typically clogs the gutters just after a rain. I'm sorry to have gone AWOL on ya'll, but I've been playing the cherie tour guide for my mother and the father for the past two weeks. If you'd like to hear about our travels in more detail feel free to hop on over to my other blog (some time next week once I write about our trip). It's about my travels here in lovely Japan land (  thedailybfg  ). Now that that little explanation and shamless self advertising is over and done with, let's get to the meat of the days ceramic meal.

My parents, crafts-people as they are, share my love for hand made things, and my mother esspeically has an affinity for pottery. We saw, and even procured a few, beautiful pieces on our travels. The reason I share these pieces with you, my internet darlings, is primarily to show just a handful of examples of the types of work I am exposed to every day. The constant reminders that there is a world of unknown potential and skill before me in this field. So enjoy the little mini tour of work, and hopefully we'll be fully back to normal this time next week.

Bizen-Yaki

Odo-yaki

Odo-yaki

Odo-yaki 

(currently unknown location, but supposedly 200 years old)

Nagasaki local artist 

Nagasaki local aftist

currently unknown 

Oh yeah! Before I sign off here . . . Tabe Sensei was recontracted at Susaki High School! So raise up your glasses and give us a song! All of the worries are gone. Another year with a great friend and many many more chances to continue making my pots.

Can't wait to get back in the studio.

Bizen-yaki frog

See you Monday!

Mellow - Yellow

Late night post, and not many words to share. Spent a good amount of time today in the studio drying and wedging reclaimed clay from the recycle bucket. There's something incredibly familiar to the repetition of cleaning and studio chores, like wedging all day. I find I'm able to zone out and just get lost in the processing. Enjoy the yellows and your weeks. 

Waterlogged

It seems Thursday has officially come and gone before I could get my post up, but we'll press onward never the less. Tuesday and Wednesday this week were consumed by copious levels of humidity and constant rain. This made drying work quite interesting. I am convinced the ceramics studio holds moisture more than any other room in the school. 

 

Despite the moisture, this week saw the coming of many new and wonderful things in the studio. Monday and Tuesday were fantastic days of throwing. I am finally comfortable enough with my bowls and cups that I am willing to be more adventurous with my forms. Specifically, I want to work on vases, containers with lids, and tea pots. However, this jump to more difficult forms comes with a much higher level of challenges. Thankfully, Monday was one of those rare days in the studio where I seemed to have what one could only describe as magic hands. My imagination and my hands were almost in sync (this is so rare I can't even begin to articulate how pleased I was!). The forms were flying off the wheel. 

Vase forms were especially problematic and frustrating for me during my formal education (as minimal as it was). So one can only guess how large my grin was when the above pictured beauty was lifted from the wheel. 

 I hope that this will become my potter's mark. I find signing my work to always appear clunky and a bit like a drunk 5-year-old got hold of my leather hard green ware. I've never made a stamp before, but the fingers are crossed in hopes that it works out well.

Tomorrow I'll load the kiln with 23 new pieces, and come Monday I'll hopefully have lots of new work to test my four new glazes on. Assuming my bisque firing goes well, and no work is lost, this will be the most satisfying collection of pots in my year and a half in Japan. Thanks for being a part of the journey. Stay tuned for Monday's slides of older work.

May your weekend be filled with sun, smiles, and satisfaction. 

Cold Hands

It's early evening here in Susaki and I can see my breath in my apartment. If I'm honest they still haven't warmed up from trying to throw today, but we'll get to what was worked on today in a little bit. I pulled this form (I like envision bourbon filling it) last Friday. I've been trying to get this shape for sometime now, and I'm very happy with the way this one turned out. I hope my hands recall how to replicate it in the weeks ahead.

 

This serving bowl is from some time ago, but I felt bad only posting the single piece of glaze work this week. I wish I could remember the exact combination that yielded that off-white (ever so slightly purple

) effect on the inside of the bowl, but I've not been able to reproduce it. In truth glazing is is both one of my favorite and least favorite parts of my ceramics process. Every time I open up a firing something new turns out.

 

And finally these are what I spent most of my week working on. I'm quite happy with the forms, and even more pleased by the fun I had playing with textures. I have always been a bit hesitant when it comes to reworking the smooth lines of a freshly thrown piece with hands that have been especially unhappy with living in cold slip and water. Despite the cold, I feel very creatively charged by having this blog. Having a mini deadline for new work each Thursday is pushing me to make more hours for studio time, and I love it. My hands and throwing skills are, thus far, much sharper and more focused on Mondays and Tuesdays. This has worked out very nicely so far because I can let work dry and then trim the pots on thursday before the post. I hope you're all enjoying as much as I am. I'm off to clean the kitchen and have a cup of tea. May your weekends be warm and wonderful.

Earthen

Only one this week. I'd hate to spoil you. 

See you on Thursday with new work!

Purpose

I have been creating pottery in Japan for just a little over a year and a half now, and shown virtually none of my work. I hesitated to publish or post any of my pieces because I kept telling myself I was working towards some type of major unveiling. The problem with that is that I get virtually no feedback on my work (other than my own opinions), and as a young, completely unknown, foreign artist (who's Japanese is, let's face it, worse than infantile) I am not the most desirable addition to any local galleries. SO, in an effort to finally get feed back and get my work out there, I am starting this web space dedicated to my ceramics.

Just to fill in some gaps left by my brief artist statement, My name is Andrew (Bear) Sartorius and I have a ceramics problem. . . It started a long time ago. I was raised in the wild parentage of two wonderful people who met at a craft fair. My father, the fine wooden spoon carver, and my mother, now an ex-stained glass artist, filled our home with objects of wood, metal, and earth that had been shaped and molded into these wonderful forms. Of these fine crafts I found the ceramics aways caught my eye the most. However I studied English literature in college and didn't take my first ceramics class until the fall semester of 2009. A friend of the family happened to be the ceramics professor at Marietta College, and I signed up for a continuing education course, after graduating from The College of Wooster, with him. Once I started I couldn't stop. It just feels right for me to have my hands working in the clay. There are only two other things that have felt as right in my life - mentoring kids as a summer camp counselor and cooking. Shortly after my ceramics class ended I discovered I had been accepted as a participant in the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program. So, I picked up and relocated to Susaki City in Kochi Prefecture, Japan. Fortunately for my newfound addiction, the high school I was placed in has a beautiful (but simple) ceramics studio. 

And that's the story. Every chance I get I sneak down to the studio I lucked into having at my disposal. I am out to learn through doing, and improve my skills and creative abilities. I hope this blog will give others a chance to see my work and tell me what they think is successful and what isn't. Perhaps some day this will turn into more than a digital gallery of my work and creative process, but for now enjoy!

New bowls fresh off the wheel this Monday.
I am not a fan of this clay body, it's quite rough, and the glazes I have tend to come out a bit dull on top of it. These 7 mark the end of it.

My first vase form in Japan. Made last March.

A tea bowl from this Autumn's firing, and my first adventure in reglazing. 

One of my first pieces to come off the wheel in Japan.

This is one of the few pots no longer in my possession. It now assist's a recent addition to the 30 and up age bracket with his morning rituals. Hope it's treating you well Colin!