SEEN THROUGH MY HALF-JAPANESE LENSE At first glance, a kinship between the cultures of Maine and Japan may seem improbable and farfetched. After all, there are still relatively few Japanese in Maine and in the 70’s when I was growing up here, they were virtually nonexistent beyond my own family. Yet, I’ve always known that
It may seem strange to come to a potter’s site only to find it filled with photographs. What does a potter do when she’s let go of her ceramics studio? She naturally keeps making stuff with the iPhone she’s addicted to. Since moving to Maine last month and having no working space right now, my
Potters as a group are particularly interested in the interaction between the things they make and the people who use them. The Artstream Ceramic Library grew out of a desire to explore this social exchange, rather than the usual monetary exchange. It grew out of wanting to extend and expand what was already happening in
The Archie Bray Foundation is the oldest and arguably the best ceramics residency in the world. Founded in 1951 and based in Helena, Montana, the Bray is situated on the grounds of a historic brick factory. It‘s a place infused with history, yet boasts state of the art facilities along with the brightest artists in
There are many realities in Japan right now. We at Handmade For Japan and the media have largely been focused on the disaster area in Tohoku, but I also want to share images from a recent trip to Japan showing another side. It felt very important for us to go to Japan during this time
Thank you to all our artists for donating such amazing work, the galleries for believing in our auction and giving us choice pieces, and the donors for thinking creatively about how they could contribute. The support we’ve gotten for our efforts to raise money for relief efforts in Japan was has been overwhelming from the
I’m happy to report that with the help of half a dozen dedicated volunteers, the Handmade For Japan East Coast Office has made significant organizational headway today! With 94 artists, galleries, and donors involved and literally thousands of emails back and forth, there has been a mountain of information to sort and upload. Thank god
The dates for the Handmade For Japan eBay auction have been set for next Thursday, March 24th, 8pm- Sunday, March 27th, 8 pm and will take place on eBay. Ai, Kathryn and I have been working non-stop for the past six days fielding emails, inviting artists and galleries, and getting press releases out to the
Like many people, I’ve been immensely moved and upset by the earthquake and tsunami disasters that began yesterday in Japan. In some small way I want to help, so I’ve start organizing an online art auction with the help of my oldest friend, Kathryn Pombriant Manzella, and my new friend, Ai Kanazwa Cheung, both of
