Pottery Making in Midsummer

I visited an Echizen-yaki pottery artist, Kenji Kasatsuji at his studio.

When I visited him, he was in the middle of making a pottery.

He was sweating so much while he kept putting clay on top of another

and blending them with his fingertips.

After that, he repeated the process of tapping the clay with a wooden paddle.

Even though he was not planning to bake the one he was making that day

because it was for a trial one, his careful and diligent work looked as if

he was making an actual product.

I was amazed by his professionalism.

 

He was forming with coils to make a large trial pottery.

From his face, you can see sweat kept coming out.

 

This was finished only up to a fourth part and it will get taller.

 

It went up to around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) that day,

and the outside of the studio was in the full glare of the sun.

 

 

T.S