Stoneware hand-thrown chawan (traditional tea ceremony bowl) by artist Akira Satake. The rim of the chawan is smooth, painted with a thick snowy Shino glaze. This chawan is the perfect balanced weight — light enough to handle with ease, heavy enough to have a presence in the hand. It is a visual and tactile delight.
The making of...
Satake says of his work: "... the act of creation is a collaboration between myself, the clay and the fire. Collaboration means finding what the clay wants to be and bringing out its beauty in the way that the beauty of our surroundings is created through natural forces. Undulations in the sand that have been moved by the wind, rock formations caused by landslides, the crackle, and patina in the wall of an old house; all these owe their special beauty to the random hand of Nature. The fire is the ultimate random part of the collaborative equation. I hope the fire will be my ally, but I know it will always transform the clay in ways I cannot anticipate."
About Akira Satake
Born in Osaka, Japan, Akira Satake moved to the U.S. in 1981 where he spent two years in California before relocating to Brooklyn, NY. A professional musician, Akira spent his NY years running a music production company, Damfino Productions, and also produced world music recordings for his label, Alula Records. In 2003 Akira and his family moved to Swannanoa, NC where he set up Akira Satake Ceramics and devoted himself to his growing passion for making pottery.
