Artist
Toshiko Takaezu
USA (Hawaii)
Closed forms. What happens inside the vessel.
She closed her pots—sealed them shut, with a small clay ball inside, so they would ring when moved.
Toshiko Takaezu was born in Hawaii, studied with Maija Grotell, and developed one of the most distinctive voices in American ceramics. Her signature: closing the top of her vessels, leaving just a small hole or sealing them entirely. Inside each piece, she placed a small clay ball that rattled when moved—the pot keeping a secret. 'When working with clay,' she wrote, 'I find myself in a state of meditation.'
What might a pot contain that isn't visible?