Red clay from Hokkaido, great quality and abundant
Toshiya Shimozawa was born to a family of ceramic artists and chose to follow in his parent’s footsteps. His studio is 30 minutes away from the city center, and is surrounded by lush greens allowing him to concentrate on creating his art. He commented, ”Hokkaido is not considered to be a productive area for ceramics. However, in reality, there is plenty of good quality clay.” In 2011, he won the Hokkaido Cultural Incentive Award. He uses red clay from the local area, and his pieces include containers as well as sculptural pieces, both of which earn high praise. His pieces take advantage of the texture of the clay, and the characteristic of the clay inspires his work.
Work that takes advantage of the clay
Red clay is rich in iron. ”I prefer the original raw clay that has a lot of impurities rather than the refined clay. I want to bring out the great qualities of the clay without processing it.” says Shimozawa. His theme in his creations ”decay and regeneration” is connected to his interpretation of clay itself. Nakata is drawn to the pieces, leading him to comment, ”I really like the way the cracks add expression to the pieces.” In the corner of the gallery there was an Oribe-yaki piece, a style that Nakata is very familiar with. ”I really enjoy thinking about ways to express myself,”spending the last 10 years or so working with both traditional and modern techniques. The warmth of the clay seems to flow out of the texture and color of the piece.
Using the potter’s wheel to make a bowl
We experienced making a bowl by actually kneading the clay and turning the wheel. For Nakata, it was a struggle, as the clay was a little hard, but Shimozawa commented, ”It’s turning out well.” Nakata was praised ”you can tell you’re experienced in the way you handle the wheel.” The shape having experience so you can see the difference in handling,” and the bowl begins to take form. At the end, he smoothes out the surface of the bowl. We were told that in order to finish off the surface, ”It shouldn’t be too soft, and is best when it’s partially dry, just before it gets hard.”
