Kiln building with Craig Edwards

The first 'workshop in Taku' will involve building a hybrid anagama/noborigama designed by Craig Edwards.

The workshop will take place October 15th - 22th 2010 at Mike Martino's studio in Taku, Japan. Participants will experience designing and building a small/medium sized wood kiln which incorporates traditional as well as modern features. The idea is to build a kiln that will produce good Karatsu ware, but will be more efficient and produce less smoke than a traditional split bamboo climbing kiln.

In this workshop you will learn how to build a wood kiln, hands on from start to finish. In addition to the experience of learning to build a kiln, this workshop is intended as a valuable culture exchange for Japanese and foreign participants. The idea is for participants to use the workshop as a path for creating and cultivating new relationships, learning new techniques, and establishing connections on which to build in the future.

**Mini Workshop**
**by Tsuruta Yoshihisa**

A mini-workshop by veteran Karatsu potter and teaware specialist Tsuruta Yoshihisa will be held on Sunday the 17th. Tsuruta san has graciously agreed to demonstrate for the group. He will also discuss in depth regarding Karatsu ware and its origins and traditions. Tsuruta san is an artist with great depth of knowledge in his subject. A link to Tsuruta san's web page is available on the Guest Artist page.

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Aside from kiln building, a side trip to Sangengama, Nakazato Shigetoshi's kiln and studio is planned. A group dinner is planned for the last night of the workshop at Hisago, a excellent little restaurant known for its wonderful food served on ware personally selected by the owner, Maeda san. Hisago has previously been featured in Gourmet magazine.

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Schedule by Day

Thur (10/14) Everyone starts arriving, getting acquainted at Tampopo House. Slow, relaxing evening, charging up for a big day on Friday.

Fri (10/15) Kiln building. First official morning of the workshop, lots of coffee and green tea. (and hopefully no bad hangovers from the previous evening).

Sat (10/16) Kiln building

Sun  (10/17) Kiln building, Mini-workshop by veteran potter and teaware specialist Tsuruta Yoshihisa.

Mon (10/18) Kiln building

Tues (10/19) Kiln building

Wed (10/20) Kiln building

Thr (10/21) Kiln building. Last day of workshop, group dinner at Hisago in Nishi Arita.

Fri (10/22) Everyone says goodbye and heads back to the airport, heavily laden with souvenirs for friends and family.

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Evenings will generally be spent relaxing and sitting around the fire/barbecue eating, drinking, and reviewing what we learned earlier in the day. I will also arrange trips to the local hot springs for those interested in a soak.

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After the workshop is finished, participants will have the option of staying on and helping to load and fire the kiln. After unloading, there will be a group First Firing Show of everyone's work held at a local gallery.

Any activities after Oct. 22nd are not included in the workshop fees, and travel and living expenses will be the responsibility of the participants. Funatsu San, owner of Tanpopo House, has graciously agreed to keep it open to workshop participants beyond the workshop dates and into early November until the First Firing Show is finished.
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This workshop is open to only 20 participants, due to space constraints. There are currently 9 spots remaining. Reservations can be made by contacting me via email at:

mike[at]karatsupots[dot]com

To secure a spot, a deposit of 20.000 Japanese yen is required. If you are overseas, you can mail a personal check (no bank checks please) of the same value which will be held until you arrive and pay the full fee in Japanese yen cash. Your check will then be returned to you or used as kindling at your request. In lieu of a check, a deposit via Paypal or International Postal Money Order is also acceptable. Please contact me for additional details or to answer any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Michael A Martino
Karatsupots.com
2048-1 Takumachi
Taku-shi, Saga-ken, Japan 846-0031

tel/fax +81-952-75-3430

Other ideas under consideration for extracurricular activities include:

-Visit to the Shidayaki Shiryokan, a restored 19-20th century porcelain factory complex.
-Visit a couple of the more well known Karatsu potters. Sakurei Gama (Okamoto Sakurei) and Uchidasaraya Gama (Maruta Munehiko).
-Visit and tour the Amabuki Sake Brewery, recently restored and renovated to it's original condition. The brewery produces very fine sake with water from a well located on site. The sake here is unique, because they use the yeasts from various flowers to ferment their sake, rather than the standard sake strains.