Blog Entry #2: Post with Video
This is the first vlog that I've ever created! I'm super excited about this post, as I'll be talking about the porcelain class I'm taking (with a preface on the steps of creating pottery). While I've been in the ceramics community for over a decade, the porcelain class is entirely new to me. This class is on Japanese porcelain, and is taught by the same teacher who taught me how to throw. I'll be discussing how the techniques I learned (and now teach to my students) relate to those that my instructor is showing me (this is a list of the many techniques Japanese ceramics use).
I really love taking a pottery class, as it makes me a better teacher and I get to expand my knowledge; I especially love this class, because it's taught by my original pottery teacher (who is an excellent teacher and mentor). Thanks to him, I found a passion that I'll keep forever. If it weren't for his ability to make anyone feel capable at doing ceramics and guiding students with grace, I'm not sure I would've come to love ceramics as much as I do.
Another reason I love learning from this instructor, is because he shares the stories and history of ceramics. While learning about Japanese ceramics, he shared the dark history of Japan kidnapping Korean potters and forcing them to work with porcelain. He also shares funnier stories about when he was learning from Japanese master ceramists, which include living treasures--stories include rainy season and dodging hundreds of frogs or using perfect porcelain (deemed imperfect by the artist, despite the fact that it would still cost a lot to purchase) for cereal bowls. By adding a soul and story to ceramics, he shows just how important something that's used for utility (and not just an interpretive art like a painting) is important to us as people.