Hamada was one of the truly great potters of the last century.  He was touring in England one time and a student asked him to relate a story from Japan.  Hamada told the story of the three generals.   A wise man asked three generals the same question.  ” You have a song bird and it will not sing.  What would you do?” The first general said immediately that he would kill it.  This general was eventually assassinated  by one of his followers. The second general said that he would investigate and find out why the bird did not sing. Read more »

I received an email. J—–:   “My name is J—–.  I saw you at a craft show a few years ago and bought a porcelain painting from you.  My husband loves your work.  His birthday is coming up.  Do you think you could do something for him?” I emailed back. Me:  “Sure.  Tell me a little bit about him.  What does he read?  What’s he interested in? What does he watch,  movies/television?” J—–:  “He loves Bryan Cranston and Breaking Bad” If you are a Breaking Bad fan, you will get this.  If you aren’t, maybe pass this on to someone Read more »

This is a back splash that I’m working on for a house in Sewanee, TN and this is a view down the valley. I’ll post pictures as this progresses. This is a wedding gift for a couple in Hawaii. She is a marine biologist, so the client asked that the glaze represent the ocean. I love this sort of work. The client came in and said we have a $500. budget. What can we do? The is the outside of the bowls. I really like how the glaze curtained down and give the impression of waves coming up on the Read more »