Artists

artists

Potter John Chambers, a 20-year student of tea, makes ware for the tea ceremony in several traditional Japanese glazes. But his passion is salt glazing, which produces rustic, accidental surfaces that resonate with the wabi aesthetic. Salt glaze pieces are one-of-a-kind, unduplicatable, growing with rich earthy tones, like a shinier version of Bizen, or cascading with ash glazes reminiscent of old Iga ware. John considers his challenge to find a contemporary and personal solution to traditional tea ceremony needs without losing sight of the respected forms of the past.
Visit the pottery at 2060 Blucher Valley Road, Sebastopol, CA, 95472. Tel & Fax: 707-823-7369.

	Potter John Chambers, a 20-year student of tea, makes ware for the tea ceremony in several traditional Japanese glazes. But his passion is salt glazing, which produces rustic, accidental surfaces that resonate with the wabi aesthetic. Salt glaze pieces are one-of-a-kind, unduplicatable, growing with rich earthy tones, like a shinier version of Bizen, or cascading with ash glazes reminiscent of old Iga ware. John considers his challenge to find a contemporary and personal solution to traditional tea ceremony needs without losing sight of the respected forms of the past. Visit the pottery at 2060 Blucher Valley Road, Sebastopol, CA, 95472. Tel & Fax: 707-823-7369.

Fornell, Robert Visit Site | Email

Seattle potter Robert Fornell began his ceramic work some twenty five years ago, receiving his BFA - University of Minnesota, and MFA – University of Washington before heading off to Japan where he worked for some 8 years. Exhibitions include such venues as The Urasenke Foundation – Seattle, The Parsons School of Design – New York, The Otis Art Institute – Los Angeles, The International Tableware Festival – Tokyo, The Ichikawa Prefectural Art Museum – Kanazawa, and the Kintetsu/Matsushita Gallery in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Over the past few years much of his work has been centered on work for Chanoyu which relates to Hagi and Karatsu as well as older Korean wares. The approach is simple, to find and use materials in a raw state and then to step back and let the fire and clay have their voice, taking the role of that of an enabler rather than that of a creator. His Hagi style kohiki ware is the clearest expression of this philosophy with the materials simply being an iron bearing clay, a coat of slip covered by an ash glaze and then fired. While respecting the various genres of the past he is also interested in expanding the vernacular of chatou as witnessed by his development of a black Shino glaze as well as a glaze he calls “Tengu”. As tea is a living art form, it is his goal to create works which while referencing the past, will also function to bind us in the expression of our humanity at this moment.