The above video is part of a short documentary about Japanese potter Ryota Aoki, who works out of Toki-City Gifu Prefecture. Aoki is a fascinating potter. When we first meet him in the documentary he’s hosting a tea gathering for a group of 150 ceramic artists. Each artist received a unique tea cup from Aoki, who had the event in the hope that it would foster a sense of community among Japanese studio potters. Ryota, who has about 20 solo exhibitions in Japan each year, apparently wants to take everyone along for the ride.
The documentary then takes us inside his studio, a converted horse barn that dates back to World War 2. With a Japanese flag hanging on a wall of particle board (the flag is there because the potter wants to represent his country), Ryota works on his creations while dressed in black and listening to hip hop. At times he looks more like a chemist. Equipped with a breathing mask, he mixes chemicals on a scale, taking precise notes in the hope that the mixtures can be used effectively in his work. He’s created more than 40 of his own techniques in the decade-or-so since he began as a potter. Some of these are really quite remarkable. There’s one, for example, which is nearly-transparent when held to the light.
Bill Rodgers is a Contributing Editor at CFile.
Above image: Ryota Aoki at his tea gathering for Japanese potters.
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