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Christine SPAHR
The sun is inside the kiln
I have always had in mind that, the reason why I was attracted to ceramics and to all the arts of fire, - before everything else - was fire. Fire, much more than clay, metal, or glass. Flame is such an extraordinary agent of transformation.
For me, nothing is more fascinating than the open mouth of a kiln, remaining open, on a circle of fire. The actual pieces, themselves - incandescent - , are like balls of fire. Like a sun, so close, so close that, at last we can touch it, feel its weight, judge the state of fusion, feel heat burn our face and hands. All this is taking the measure of our own nature, in front of Nature.
This metaphor of the sun, in part mastered by human techne, allows us – humble small gods that we are – to create the formal, coming through the unformal state of firing.
The potter, the blacksmith, the glass blower need the fire to forge their creative idea into the now cooled form, and to give it durability.
Wood firing and raku firing still offer such a direct experimentation of firing. That is why I generally orientate my work to this way.
For me, coming to Seto and to Japan was rediscovering the origins of my own practice as a ceramist. And to discover one of the cultures that carried this art to its ultimate, with so much subtlety. But I discovered much more than this : people first, so kind and welcoming to us. And an extraordinary variety of styles, forms, decorations, materials, colors…through an historical evolution of thousands of years, still alive now.
I wish to Seto and to this international exchange project of artist residency good luck for the future. It is the best that can be done for cultural and friendship exchanges.
Thank you Seto.
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