Voice

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  The allure of making everyday ceramic pieces.

  I've always liked making things. I was a member of the ceramics club in high school,and I decided to study at Kyoto Seika University because of its excellent facilities and full-scale kiln, which I had access to even as a first-year student.But now, I think it is the campus environment that I like most. It’s an environment where I can pursue my interests and push the bounds of my creativity.For example, my professors are always supportive even if I attempt to create a more complex piece or use a production technique that might typically be considered "wrong."This support has allowed me to keep challenging myself without fear of failure.My current theme focuses on creating utilitarian pieces that can be used in people’s everyday lives.I usually use a potter's wheel to craft tableware and other items, but there are other students in the same ceramics course making sculptures, so we always find inspiration in each other's work.After graduation, I plan to do product development for a company that manufactures and sells ceramics.I believe that I can further deepen my current theme in a more practical wayby combining my unique perspective with the ceramic traditions and techniques perfected over centuries to create pieces that can enrich our lives ever so slightly.

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  Ceramics allows us to display our individuality within the limitations of the medium.

  Through both my educational work and the growth of my students, I get to experience the joy of teaching on a daily basis while continuing to evolve as an artist myself.I am always trying to create conditions that will leave students wanting to talk about art with their families when they go home after school,and I remind myself that I don't want to merely teach technique, but I also want students to learn about art itself.In ceramic production, we are in an ongoing conversation with our materials. And these materials are always subject to any number of external factors such as gravity and friction.It is within these limitations—and because of them—that we are able to exercise our creativity and create new possibilities.That is what makes ceramics so appealing.Ceramics is also a time-intensive process, so by paying attention to how our materials change throughout this process, we can find value in the finished product.Kyoto Seika University is a place where you can challenge yourself and try different things.The four years you will spend here are much shorter than you think, so I hope that while you are here, you will reassess and reinterpret your values and approach your studies from a place of creativity rather than relying on technique alone.In doing so, you will learn to convey to others the joy of ceramics that can be found in our everyday lives.