In search of local experiences, I took a sequential pottery class during my time in Kanazawa. I luckily learned pottery-making with an experienced pottery master, Lida Sensei, at a beautiful wooden house located at a serene garden dedicated to a Zen philosopher.
Our first class included a brief introduction to pottery-making, and shaping clay into a bowl shape. Even though this seemed to be an easy step, it involved many techniques and procedures to define and refine the shape. We started off with pressing the clay multiple times to soften it, and then molding it into a circular bowl-shaped by using a rotating tool. Following that, we carved out the inner parts to make the bowl thinner and lighter.
In the second class, we worked on refining the bowls by making them even lighter and adding patterns. I went for a simpler style and carved a few lines that resembled tree branches, and wrote down my name in Chinese at the bottom.
In the third class, I colored the dried bowl into a lighter blue on the top part and a darker blue on the lower part. It turned out to be really fascinating one.
Unluckily, I dropped the bowl on the way to Tokyo, but this experience was definitely a memorable one. The seemingly-easy pottery making involved much care for details and sense of art and design. It was also one of the very few times where I had a hands-on experience with Japanese art. I will definitely go back to visit the sensei, and hopefully, will make a better bowl to carry home in the future 🙂
