Between the Idea and Making

Firing our work in two large woodfired kilns, an Old Bizen style Nobori Gama and a traditional whale shaped Anagama, our work touches on the concepts of both modern and ancient art. We also fire a gas kiln with glazed wares. The work is rooted in the ceramic vessel traditions brought forward by the Japanese Mingei philosophies, while reflecting our interest in contemporary art.

We make things as a way to manifest ideas. The idea might be as simple as a nice soup bowl or mug—or as complex as the intersection between traditional pottery and modern art. The work has specific modern connotations and attempts to deal with the development of the abstract within the utilitarian object aesthetic. Our pursuit is to enlarge the boundaries of conventional perceptions and enable new methods of communication and combination of forms.A functional pot also has the possibility to stand alone as a visual and artistic statement. Today, people engaging in contemporary ceramics are rarely if ever anonymous folk artists; rather they are likely to be well educated, with a focused vision, striving to reveal their own artistic sensibilities. Working as artists, we are engaged in tracking down a primary moment, a moment that reveals vulnerability, emotion, intellect, the conscious and subconscious.  Seeking to transform that moment into artistic creation is compelling.