How it all started

1969 was my 17th summer, and as I had permission to use the car, I drove with my friends Paul and Eric. The destination had something to do with a rock band and "Laura's birthday." Laura, now 16, lived out in the country, it was night, nobody had been there before, so we cruised until passing a darkened house with the sound of teenage rock band pouring out through the open windows. "There it is!" shouted Eric, and we 3 entered and doubled the guest count.

Her parents came back a little later, Norm and Gloria Schulman. Norm was then head of ceramics at Rhode Island SchooI of Design, and later he helped me many ways along my path as a potter. He had lots of art in his little country house, and I was immediately drawn to a dark blue round object about 25 x 25 cm. I was invited to pick it up, and instantly fell in love with a Toshiko Takaezu closed form pot. The full roundness, the dark blue rough glaze, the unyielding hardness, the utter uselessness - It was so alien to anything I had ever encountered, hard, dark, feminine, so graceful. Enclosing space for no purpose other than to open a conversation with the ridges from her fingertips not smoothed out. It was he first piece of pottery I had ever seen, and I was deeply impressed (in that era, "my mind was blown"). That moment was the beginning of exploration down the path of pottery.

We met once, when Toshiko had a workshop at Portland State University in the winter of 1971. She was at the wheel, and I admired her poise and confidence with clay. She demonstrated throwing a closed form, instructing on every detail and technique. She was generous and patient with silly questions. "She throws poetically, doesn't she?" inquired Norm, when I told him about it later. "Poetically" is about right.

There was some of her work for sale, and with just 3 of her pieces unsold, so I chose for $10 a brown and blue teabowl. I treasure it, of course, and it continues to inspire me.

Part 2

It was over 50 years ago, and Toshiko Takaezu has inspired my work throughout. That she came from Hawaii was enchanting, and I looked for Hawaii in her pots.

The closed form pots I made for this tribute are formed out of my memories of Norm's pot which I held in my hand and the one she threw in wet clay in front of me. I hope you enjoy my expressions of admiration and respect for Toshiko's art.