Saturday, November 15, 2008

Tomoo Kitamura

Today, several of the Clayworks clan enjoyed a very special workshop with Tomoo Kitamura. Tomoo shared much with us. But it was his combination of throwing/coil construction that most captivated me. He began by throwing a base for his large scale facial sculpture.

A human facial sculpture must have a chin. (Note to self --- THINK AHEAD!)

A minimum of throwing (if you can call centering and throwing 9-12 lbs of clay minimum????) turns to a maximum of coiling.
And the creation begins.


Tomoo extrudes the clay he uses for his coils. I'm not sure how many feet (yards?) of extruded clay he used today. But I know it was a lot!




Once the eyes were created, it was on to the mouth.



We broke for lunch. And afterwards Tomoo showed us many other things before returning to the large-scale sculpture.

The finishing touch includes carving into the clay.

Watching Tomoo work was a wonderful experience. And while it was difficult to see him bid goodbye to his sculpture...(it was a demo piece, not meant to carry on)....

...it was many a lesson well learned. And a personal incentive to grow and create. Thank you, Tomoo!
John shares many more pictures and a great post on the workshop here.

4 comments:

Big Al said...

That is so cool! I'd never have guessed you'd start by turning it. Just more amazement at what people can do with some damp dirt! Thanks for sharing, I hate he didn't fire it but I can understand it, I guess.

Becky said...

Hi Al. Yes, what he did was amazing. And it was difficult (for me) to see that wonderful piece wind up in the slop bucket. But that's a lesson I'm learning. To let go. (And, baby, it's a toughie!)

Big Al said...

It is in a lot of ways. My oldest is moving out this month to her own home. I am happy and very worried. We all did it but for our kids it seems such a big step. Letting go is tough!

Amy said...

letting go is so hard! those pics make the wheel look so small.