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Andreal Leila DENECKE
The Seto residency program was a wonderful opportunity for me to return to Japan and work in a setting of international exchange and cooperation. It is a very exciting concept to bring people from various countries around the world together to use the clays of Seto to create works which exhibit the limitless possibilities of the individual artists' imaginations. It is an honor to have been selected and I look forward to the exhibition which will be presented at the 2005 World Expo of the work of all of the visiting Artists-in-Residence.
I would like to thank all of the people who were so kind and helpful during our stay, from the employees of the Seto City Cultural Center, who have the monumental task of organizing the program, to the staff of the Seto Ceramics and Glass Art Center, who help with everything in the studio from gathering tools and supplies to firing the gas kilns. I would especially like to thank Mr . Hattori, Ms. Kuroda, and Mr. Nakashima for all of their efforts to make the residency a success. I would like to thank Mr. Yoda and Mr. Ishikawa for their technical expertise in firing the kilns. I also wish to express appreciation for the kindness and generosity of the many Seto ceramic artists who opened their studios to us and willingly shared their knowledge of Seto's ceramic history and as well as contemporary ceramic art.
I have long had an interest in using various clay bodies which have vastly different textures and colors to individualize sculptures which are somewhat similar in form. As Seto has many clays available, I was able to experiment with Seto Aka, Seto Kuro, Gotomaki, #4 clay, #7 clay, Rotto Tsuchi, Oshima Aka and Touban Tsuchi. All of these clays have different working qualities and characteristics, which in turn had a direct affect on my work.
In my sculpture I work with abstract minimal forms which have a simplicity and similarity about them and yet, can also generate a sense of strength and timelessness. I am striving to create objects of contemplation which I hope will elicit sensitive and evocative images for the viewer. The various referential forms which I draw upon for my sculptures include archaic relics (tools of primitive cultures such as axeheads and arrowheads), megaliths, architectonic forms, ancient bronze bells and jade blades. Elusive and enigmatic communication of form is the focus of my work. I make objects which may evoke memory responses or instill a meditative state based on stimuli which have influenced me.
Among my influences, I feel that my travels have been very significant for the development of an appreciation of Japanese ceramics and aesthetics. I studied in Mashiko in 1971 and also toured many of the famous kiln sites and pottery villages throughout the country. In 1984, I returned to study in the professional course at the Tekisui Museum of Art Ceramic Art Research Institute in Ashiya where I stayed for two and a half years. Once again in 1991, I worked in Mashiko to create a monument for the Sister City of Minneapolis, Ibaraki City in Osaka-fu. It was during these times, that my ongoing interest in Japanese art and culture flourished. I hope that in the future I will have many more opportunities to visit Japan and learn from its wealth of ceramic art
history.
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