Takeshi Yasuda was in Vancouver many years ago and I remember being so impressed with his throwing ability. He produced unique forms on the wheel. A long way from the traditional stoneware clay and forms of his home, Mashiko, he delights in the sensuous fluidity and pure whiteness of porcelain.

Vincent Massey introduced him as having been a formative instructor when he was a student at Farnham in England. Takeshi has been living in England for forty years now and in his address he discussed whether or not he is a ‘Japanese’ potter. Probably not.

Alan and I came across a large group of his loose, angular, celadon-glazed forms at his and Felicity Aylieff’s studio in Bath when we took our tour group there in 2005. (I think you bought one, Lesley Lloyd?) He was in Jhing de Zhen at the time. So it was a delight to watch Takeshi throwing again. He throws quickly and loosely, using years of experience to produce unusual forms.

My photos show a series where he threw a foot, a tall, spirally grooved main section which he enclosed at the top so that its fragile form could be maintained by air pressure inside and then the top neck and lip, all upside-down.

Another piece was thrown and then suspended upside down to retain the seemingly impossible grooves and stop the inevitable collapse of the form. Fun!

Another was thrown with a thicker top lip with a very thin area beneath that. He lifted the bat and literally threw off the top part, leaving the thin area stretched to be the random, sharp new top edge. We saw a similar form on display, lined with gold, with a lively foot. He agreed that the top edge would be extremely sharp after firing so he softens it just a little when bone-dry, with a soft sponge.

I’ve also included a jug and dish form, typical Yasuda forms, which he threw at the earlier throwing demonstration that day.

Allow your cursor to rest on each image to read the caption.