Being a Pottery Apprentice in Japan

Рет қаралды 7,579

4 жыл бұрын

This short film is about my one year apprenticeship in Japan with master potter Ken Matsuzaki. It follows my journey prior to leaving and during my second month in Mashiko. It touches upon some of the cultural differences between East and west in the student-teacher relationship. This documentary was made for Hawaiian airlines in-flight programming "Hawaiian Skies", which features stories about lifestyle, culture or art that connects Hawaii to other countries. Directed by the talented Brett Wagner in 2016.
See also: • Ceramics
#mashiko #mashikopottery #kenmatsuzaki #japanesepotteryapprenticeship #apprentice #japanesepottery #handcrafted #teacherstudentrelationship #artisancraftsmanship #ceramics #pottery #bigislandartist #suzannewangceramics #woodfiredpottery

Пікірлер: 28

@meishitan5042 3 жыл бұрын

Wait a minute, why are there only 74 views? This is such an interesting topic re an opportunity mostly closed to foreigners, and there is such high production value....! I can't be the only one that searches Japanese pottery apprenticeship on KZfaq??

@simatai33 3 жыл бұрын

LOL, I'm not so great at promoting myself. I created this channel last year so this is a fairly new post. It was originally published on Hawaiian Skies (it was made for in-flight programming) for Hawaiian Airlines...so it got a lot of views there! Thank you for watching :)

@Sapiewithwithpeas 11 ай бұрын

What an incredible movie, and story! This deserves to reach more viewers, and I hope you find your audience!

@daled8221 6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for this video, there's so much truth & feeling in it! There is nothing like cone 10+!!!

@hewwoitssam1203 Жыл бұрын

lovely video! thank you for posting it.

@travismaxwell9805 Ай бұрын

I can’t even trade wedging labor for 1 on 1 training where I am located and at my skill level. They have to always be making pots. The thing about learning pottery is it takes time. I don’t know anyone that took a one night a week class for 6 weeks and came out throwing 12 inch tall, 1 pound(about 450 grams) cylinders. Even if you have natural skill, you can’t mentally process everything you have to be doing when throwing properly. I am glad you got to do this.

@suzannewangceramics3280 Ай бұрын

So true. It really takes years and years! I am still learning :) And throwing is just the beginning of getting to know clay and your relationship with the material. Just keep practicing and observing...sometimes the slower way is deeper training.

@mariadelacruzrodriguezpala8610 10 ай бұрын

wondefull! Thank you!!!

@ROVS-JC-7 2 жыл бұрын

Being a crafts man, pottery is only one thing have never tried.

@Sudokud 3 ай бұрын

This how booo want to live ❤️

@alecpydde3726 5 ай бұрын

Thank you, this was a very well made video! If you dont mind me asking, you mentioned that you were not allowed to help him with any of his work. Were you able to actually make any of your own pottery, and throw on a wheel?

@suzannewangceramics3280 5 ай бұрын

When this video was made, I had only been there a month. I was actually able to make some work of his from press molds, using slabs of clay. I wasn't able to throw any of his work because my throwing skills were not good enough at that time. I was able to make my own work near the end of my apprenticeship, and I made a body of work that was thrown and handbuilt from slabs and coils. These were presented at an exhibition at the end of my one year apprenticeship.

@alecpydde3726 4 ай бұрын

Oh ok, thank you.

@urabagofcells2228 2 жыл бұрын

Lovely video! Sooo many questions, how good was your japanese when you first started? How much pottery did you do before approaching Matsuzaki to apprentice? Did you just casually ask, or did you show your portfolio and explain yourself?

@suzannewangceramics3280 2 жыл бұрын

I barely knew any Japanese and was studying the language online. It was difficult to learn Japanese while apprenticing because we did not talk too much during work, and I had very little to practice it in conversations on my day off. I had been doing pottery for a couple years prior to my apprenticeship, but was very amateur. The application and portfolio process was rigorous. It took over a year, with lots of vetting. I also traveled to Japan to visit him prior to my acceptance.

@simatai33 11 ай бұрын

I didn’t speak hardly any Japanese when I started and learned very little while I was there because we didn’t talk a lot in the studio. The lengthy process of getting my apprenticeship took about a year, in order to get the visa, and I made sure to travel to Japan first and visit his studio before I was accepted. It was a major commitment for both student and teacher:)

@Angel_leah005 3 жыл бұрын

I want to be able to do this so bad but I have no idea how.

@steve4nj 2 жыл бұрын

I am supposed to go to Tajimi to study pottery so this video is great! How did you manage to get an apprenticeship?

@suzannewangceramics3280 2 жыл бұрын

It was a long process! I recommend reading John Baymore's advice on studying ceramics in Japan. See: community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/1268-advice-on-studying-ceramics-in-japan/

@ravichandel8690 Жыл бұрын

I wanted to know how can from india i can apply for apprentiship

@kevinleong4467 7 ай бұрын

Do you speak Japanese? This seems amazing. I have been doing ceramics for 8 years and I really want to do an apprenticeship in Japan. I don’t speak Japanese but love going to Japan and would like to learn Japanese and how they do ceramics.

@suzannewangceramics3280 5 ай бұрын

I don't speak Japanese, which made this experience more challenging. But I did learn the basics while I was there. Maybe 30-50 words. It would be very beneficial to learn some conversational Japanese and pottery terminology if you want to travel there to study ceramics!

@malcolmcooke2024 9 ай бұрын

Pottery the art of waiting you make the piece wait then finish it wait again until ready for the firing load kiln wait fire wait for cooling and then get to see the result. No other art for is like this can be months between the concept and the result in the hand it it my be a failure in the kiln.

@suzannewangceramics3280 8 ай бұрын

So true! That process can be nerve wracking but also is such a wonderful teacher on patience and perseverance.

@StuninRub 3 күн бұрын

Probably would have learned more to use your Chinese connections to learn from the potters in Jing De Zhen. Your average 14 to 20 year old thrower will probably have better technical skills than this guy. An instructor / master there will have over 30 years of experience before they hit 50 and the training experience will be a lot more practical as opposed to doing the instructor's chores.

@suzannewangceramics3280 Күн бұрын

Funny you should mention that, because I am going to Jingdezhen in Sept for an artist residency at JCUIS :) What I learned in Mashiko was so profoundly different from my life in the States. It greatly impacted on my life and my approach towards ceramics. I did not excel in technical skills, but the experience improved my discipline and deepened my understanding of the craft in a very fundamental way. Super excited to see the contrast between the Chinese and Japanese approach towards clay!

@StuninRub Күн бұрын

@suzannewangceramics3280 Congratulations! I think you will find it to be a very enlightening experience. If you have never been there before, certain parts of the city (although tourist-sy) will have small work shops littered everywhere, and all of them are able to move clay on a world class level. Definitely befriend some of them if possible.