Mashiko

May 25, 2014

Sorry I've gotten a little behind on the blog! Homework has picked up (the unfortunate part of traveling in a university program) so I've had my hands full. After this post I plan to write a reflection on my time here at Headquarters, and then I'll be blogging from Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara! Very excited to get traveling again.

This post is about a day trip we took over the weekend... To Mashiko!

Mashiko is known as the city of sculptors. Its the number one place in Japan for pottery, and it's easy to see why!

Everywhere you turn in Mashiko, you see beautiful pottery of every kind. Cups, bowls, plates, pots, sculptures... And painted in a beautiful variety of colors!
I knew, before I came, that we'd be going to Mashiko and I'd get to see lots of pottery. I imagined white, symmetrical, glazed pots skillfully covered with blue illustrations. I had thought that that's what all Asian pottery looks like! I was so wrong; that's what Chinese pottery looks like. Japanese pottery, on the other hand, is much more earthy and hand-made looking. Many pieces I saw were asymmetrical, rough, left unglazed in places. There were bright blue pieces, yellow pieces, white pieces painted with pink flowers; some were brown and dark green, some textured while others were smooth... I went into a countless number of shops as well as an outdoor market, and everywhere I was greeted with an overwhelming amount of pottery.

Pottery piled up high on floors, artfully arranged on shelves, upstairs, downstairs, outside, in shops... You could never imagine so many beautiful things! Each one unique and hand made.

I could've spent two days just wandering there. And I could've spent every dime I have! Oh to have a kitchen stocked with a rainbow of dishes from Mashiko!
I restrained myself to only two mugs. While I really like my purchases, I must say that it was incredibly difficult to pick them out while in that sea of gorgeous art!

Although I was very happy just to wander, the next item on our agenda was a TON of fun!
We were going to make some pottery of our own.

The place where we went to work is a tiny, one-room art studio. We broke into two groups (One had art class while the other saw the city, then swapped. I was in the group to explore first.) in order to fit in the space.
Once inside, we sat at tables and were all given aprons, a hunk of clay, and some tools. Then an adorable Japanese woman demonstrated a few different methods for sculpting mugs and bowls by hand. 

I listened with one ear but, as she spoke, was eyeing the three electric pottery wheels off to the side of the room.
I have always wanted to try sculpting on a wheel and, when the woman asked if anyone wanted to try it, my hand shot up.
I was giddy as I climbed over the bench and lowered my legs into the sort of pit they'd created for the wheels. I quickly learned that I picked the wrong day to wear a skirt as I sat on the very dirty, clay coated bench and straddled the wheel (sorry, Mom, there's just no ladylike way to sculpt on a wheel). 

FYI- not my hands or my work; this was the instructor's example

After that, I pretty much got to work! We weren't given much instruction on the wheel. The woman's husband got it going for me, starting the wheel and forming a basic scooped shape, and then I just experimented with it until I'd created a cup I was proud of! I found the pottery wheel very relaxing. 
I ended up making several things: a bowl, a plate, a couple of cups... It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! I think the hardest parts might be centering the clay on the wheel, getting started, and cutting your finished piece off of the clay when you've finished. All things the instructor did for me. 
But I'd definitely do it again! I think it'd be really cool to create a piece from the very beginning, fire it in a kiln, glaze/paint it up, and fire it again. That would take like a month, but I'm putting it on my life bucket list anyway! 
After I'd made a few things I was proud of, I hopped off the wheel and gave hand sculpting a try.
I really didn't like it so it's probably not worth talking about. Basically I went from feeling like a legit artist on the wheel to feeling like a toddler with play-dough. 

I'm smiling in this picture, but I crushed up that mug in frustration shortly after it was taken and returned to the wheel. 

Fingernails crusted in clay and faces smiling, we left the studio and headed to lunch. 
Oh this lunch was so good. Shrimp and veggie tempura with cold soba noodles. The tempura was crispy and fresh and the tempura was perfectly flavorful and slurp-able.

Having taken in the beautiful pottery and delicious food, it was time to start heading back to Headquarters for the night.

...But not before a stop at another Japanese onsen! 
This onsen was much bigger than the first! After a little spa time, Mary, Kirby, and I found a nap room and crashed in there til it was time to go!
The nap room is seriously just a big room for adults to nap. How awesome is that? 
The room is full of recliners and blankets, and a TV in the front of the room plays sumo on low volume. 

Americans would totally be all about this! 

After the onsen, we returned to Headquarters for dinner and homework/social time before bed. 

I really have enjoyed this weekend away from headquarters and am definitely looking forward to more exploring and sight seeing as we begin traveling soon!