Dear ,

This week's issue of Picture to Ponder is dedicated to the memory of Toshiko Takaezu, world-renowned potter, of Japanese heritage, born in Hawaii where she died in March at the age of 88.

I just learned of her passing when I Googled her name this week. Three small ceramic pots of hers that I've owned for many years spontaneously became the subject of my writing in two groups I'm in this week; thus the search for an update, since the last time I visited her studio.

"Renowned for her extraordinary pottery and highly respected as a teacher, Toshiko Takaezu is one of the most significant ceramic artists of the 20th century--and the 21st." Toshiko Takaezu: Portrait of a Ceramic Artist" - http://digital.films.com/play/R2UF49, where you can see a beautiful video on her philosophy and work. On the right side of the page you will find links to clips abstracted from the 30 minute video. See some of the incredible Nature views, especially in Hawaii, that had an impact on her work.

Today's Picture to Ponder Photos -

CONTAINER OF LIFE

A brown mountain
Rounded tops
Superseded by Sky
Blue and brown
And further Heavenward
The finish gets light
With blended blue
Blue gray
Spotted in one section with
Magenta
Dripping down
Horseshoe shape uplifts
Or is it a "U"
YOU whom I love

Closed in at the top
Tiny hole completes
The almost nipple space

Life expanding
Life contained
Always there

(Written in the session of Julie Jordan Scott's WRITING CAMP, this week of writing from our senses, where the session focused on "Sight.")

Other Views of the same "Moon Pot" - the name Toshiko gave to her closed pots.

Close-up and stepping back.

I found it most interesting to discover how much more meaningful the "moon pots" I have became, once I took the camera to them. Though I held, caressed, put down, then wrote what turned out to be the above poem, it was only when I focused with the camera that new worlds within her work opened up to me. I somehow became closer to it.

My Connections with Toshiko -
Toshiko was one of the Artist Instructors at the Artist/Teacher Institute in which I participated in Sandy Hook, NJ for two weeks during the summer of 1977. During that time I took many photographs (black and white) that Sam printed in his darkroom. Several of them, along with my "Comments, Observations, and Reflections", were included in the final published report of the Institute that was sponsored by the NJ State Council on the Arts, the National Art Education Association and the National Endowment for the Arts.

About Toshiko, I wrote there: "When I think of Toshiko, I can still bring back to my sensory memory her calm, modulated, yet strong voice reverberating through my system. I strongly felt her desire, her striving for a flow -- a flow of human interaction amongst those of use participating and another organic flow of our spirits with our clay." One of the things she did was a group sculpture that she called a lei. (I'd be glad to elaborate for anyone who might be interested.) I concluded there, "The aura of Toshiko will long remain with me."

We had the added privilege then of visiting her studio on the weekend between and, again, several years later, Sam and I visited her in her home and studio in Quakertown, NJ. You can see the latter in the videos (links below).

(Photo -Toshiko Takaezu taken by Sam Finkelstein in 1977)

My Remembering of Toshiko -
(Timed writing to a prompt in my Wild Woman Writers group.)

When I remember Toshiko I think of strength and presence. Beauty within and beauty without. Connection with her world, with ours

For her there was no difference between planting and harvesting her fruits and vegetables, cooking with them or potting. She did emphasize though that it was the working in clay that was most fulfilling for her.

Warm and kind, gentle always, at least in my interactions with her and those that I experienced with others in her presence. I expect that she was a hard taskmaster with her apprentices, probably as a stand for their being their best.

When I think of Toshiko, I think of strength, both physical and spiritual.

(Note: In watching the NJ Arts video again, she did say at one point that sometimes the potato is more than her pots.)

Video Links on Toshiko -

Slide show of Toshiko working in her studio, her home and grounds, her apprenctices, and a wide range of her work, including a sampling of her much taller than life-size pieces - "Remembering Toshiko" http://www.videosurf.com/video/remembering-toshiko-1337800496

Life summary in Obituary from the Civil Beat in Honolulu - http://www.civilbeat.com/posts/2011/03/10/9522-renowned-hawaii-artist-toshiko-takaezu-dies/ includes the link for a Video interview with the day before her 87th birthday.

To hear the voice of the Toshiko I know, please do visit the NJ State Council on the Arts video I first mention. http://digital.films.com/play/R2UF49

Self-Reflecting Queries -
Today's issue of Picture to Ponder has, obviously, been extra long. Thank you for having followed it all, or done whatever you've done with this issue. I have spent a lot of time this week being with, and doing searches on Toshiko, then posting on Facebook. Underlying it all was a form of completion, I suppose, and the desire to and query on what would I post here.

In the whole process, I've had the opportunity to experience the feeling of my own growth. Thirty-four years ago, I was in awe that I could be in the presence of such a great person and artist and be acknowledged by her. To think I would be writing comfortably about to a wide world of "strangers" would have been unheard of for me then. When I look at the inclusion of my writing in the national publication/report, I remember my pride and, almost, disbelief in that.

I invite you now to look into your life. Are there areas where you are feeling "less than?" If so, what would it take for you to shift that?

Is there a particular person of whom you are in awe, one whom you wouldn't dare to approach? If so, I invite you to, in fact, make a connection.

Also, in relation to my experience with today's photographs - I invite you to take one art object (Julie's assignment) and look at it closely from many directions. Write on what you see and feel.

And, if you have a camera, inspect it also with your camera - close-up, distance, different angles, if it's three-dimensional. If there is a difference showing up for you when you use the camera, I'd love for you to share that with me, on the blog or directly by email.

Finally, for thought - in the NJ Arts Council video, near the beginning, Toshiko states: "... everything you do is collaboration, even in the garden. You can't just throw the seeds in and say, 'Just grow.' You have to really work to be able to get back what you have helped grow."

What seeds have you been planting? Is there any kind of collaboration for you that will further them even more?

As always, have fun, and please share on the blog your experience with these photos and what comes up for you.

Reader's Comments are welcome -
To post them on the Photography and Transformation blog click on the small word "Comment" at the end of NY post. A window will open, asking for your name, email address that will NOT be published, a URL if you have - Your name will be linked to that - and a box with space for you to "Leave a Reply" will be there to type in your response. Then remember to click on "Submit."

If posting on a blog is not your style, please continue to send your comments directly to me. Learning what you are experiencing means a lot. It is part of the reward, for me, of publishing Picture to Ponder.

Guests - If this issue has been passed on to you by a friend, we invite you also to take advantage of a no-cost subscription. Simply click on SUBSCRIBE. You can learn more about Picture to Ponder on our INTRO page.

Inspirationally,


Sheila
sheila[a]picturetoponder.com
--
© 2005-11 Sheila Finkelstein
www.SheilaFinkelstein.com - Portal to All My Creative Ventures/
www.NatureArtGifts.com - Gifts from Art in Nature
www.BananaSkyDVD.com - Stress Relief on TV or Computer

twitter.com/InspiredSheila
www.facebook.com/Sheila-Finkelstein

www.SheilaFinkelstein.com/communicationservices.html - Communication Services
www.SheilaFinkelstein.com/businessopportunity.html - Business Opportunity

©2004 - 2011 Sheila Finkelstein - All photos and written content are copyrighted and, unless otherwise noted, the property of Sheila Finkelstein and sheilafinkelstein.com.

Photos and writings may be printed out for personal use and inspiration only. All other rights are reserved. Modification, further reproduction, or distribution of any of the content is prohibited without express written permission. For other uses contact Sheila