Sunday, September 23, 2007

Toshiko Takaezu Ceramics Studio

SOME OF TOSHIKO TAKEZU'S CERAMIC SCULPTURE
BEAUTIFUL PIECE BY CERAMIC STUDIO MANAGER, JOHN BADE, A VERY TALENTED AND DEDICATED ARTISTCERAMIC ART FROM LOCAL ARTISTS

To view more of Kenny Kicklighter's work click on link http://www.cedarstreetgalleries.com/bin/works.cgi?Artist=KicklighterKenny







Toshiko Takaezu



It has been said that Toshiko Takaezu may have been the first potter to successfully close a pot. This seminal decision removed her work and ceramics as a whole, from the realm of craft and functionality, to that of fine art. Her closed, vertical vessels have become her hallmark. Continually drawing inspiration from the natural world and a combination of Eastern and Western techniques and aesthetics, Takaezu has crafted a signature vocabulary of ceramic forms. For the most part, her earlier works are wheel thrown, but as she began to envision larger forms, she incorporated hand built techniques in order to transcend the restrictions of the wheel. Her painterly application of glazes acts as a dynamic, visual counterpoint to her meticulously crafted shapes. In regards to her affinity for the clay medium, the artist asserts, "One of the best things about clay is that I can be completely free and honest with it. And clay responds to me. The clay is alive and even when it is dry, it is still breathing! I can feel the response in my hands, and I don't have to force the clay. The whole process is an interplay between the clay and myself and often the clay has much to say." (1)

HAWAII BORN, WORLD RENOWNED CERAMICIST TOSHIKO TAKAEZU.


YWCA BUILDING, RICHARDS STREET, HONOLULU



LOCATED AT THE YWCA LANIAKEA, DOWNTOWN HONOLULU