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This coming year will
see a significant amount of work produced by Japanese potters at the
Harlequin so it is appropriate that Hitomi, who was born in Takamatsu, should
start the proceedings even though she is now based in Seagrove, USA. Hitomi
gained her degree and Masters in Ceramics from Okayama National University in Japan in the mid 1990s and received a
scholarship to continue her studies at the University of Massachusetts. On returning to Japan she worked at the Shigaraki Ceramic
Research Institute and was a resident artist at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park. Moving to the States last summer to
take up the position of Resident Artist at the North Carolina Pottery Center has allowed her to explore the rich
craft culture and the plentiful supplies of wood and clay locally, things not
available in Shigaraki. Although still young, several public
collections in the States hold examples of Hitomi’s work as well as being
represented in the Ceramic Cultural Park collection
in Shigaraki.
Hitomi has received a small grant from
the Daiwa Foundation to make this trip to the UK to
interview wood-firing potters and to bring over the work to be exhibited at
the Harlequin. The bulk of this work was fired in her noborigama (wood fired
climbing kiln with stepped chambers) between 16th and 22nd December,
including the items below: -
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