WHAT HE SAID

“Use has many meanings. To hold and use something on a daily basis is one meaning, but display is also another type of use. Will (one of his pieces) be a display piece, or put away as a household treasure, or be physically used as a utensil? That is up to the owner. I try to make pieces that can play any number of roles.” A quote by Matsuzaki Ken from the book BURNING TRADITION


I can’t think of any potter that I know, have met and have read about, that didn’t have exactly this thought about the pots that he/she makes. At the end of the day, how someone uses a pot, is entirely up to them. I have seen mugs used as small planters, tumblers for pencils, pitchers as vases, covered cassorles used to store misc. objects from tacks to keys and I have even seen a Kawai Kanjiro chawan being used as an ashtray (it was rescued from that use!)! The use is all up for grabs and certainly the simple act of displaying a handmade pot is probably the most useful use of them all. The beauty of the handmade on display can only brighten up ones mood and make one’s environment, that much more satisfying. Go ahead, make my day, take a mug out for coffee or tea………….

"Beauty is not caused, it is."  Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)