From January 11 to the 13th, I attended "A Fine Line" Regional Conference held at The Berkeley Potters Guild in Berkeley, California organized by the Potters Council, www.potterscouncil.org

There were several workshops.

This is Margaret Grisz-Dow who demonstrated the art of painting on clay with her vivid surface decoration techniques, which included Sumi-e with an Asian brush and scrafitto.
http://berkeleypotters.com/margaretgriszdow.html




Lana Wilson demonstrated innovative handbuilding techniques. Here she showed how she textured a soft slab for the making of a teapot.












During her presentation Lana demonstrated her new way of making intricately decorated plates.
http://www.lanawilson.com/














Chris Gustin altered pots by using both wheel and handbuilding methodologies. The pots are taken out of symmetry by the wheel and abstracted through the manipulation of the form. http://www.gustinceramics.com/

Friday afternoon, I went to Gary Holt's workshop, around the corner of the potters guild. Very impressive place. He talked about color effects on porcelain using water soluble forms of metals; the salt forms of metals (chlorides and nitrates), which acts quite differently from common colorants. http://www.garyholt.com/

In the evening, Robin Hopper, an internationally known potter, gave a lecture drawn from his last book "Making Marks". It is about ideas and realities, focusing on drawing, color, ceramic process, and personal interpretation. http://www.chosinpottery.ca/pages/robinhopper.html

After a weekend like this, I want to jump back in my workshop and start working on my ideas and do some research.
On Monday, we will return to Japan and I will be able to work in a workshop in Kamakura. This is wonderful.