Chapter 4: The Studio
“Hello,” said Grandpa, loud enough to announce their entry. He guided Jacob forward as a way of both showcasing his grandson and encouraging Jacob to take the lead.
Jacob quickly realized that the inside of the building was nothing like the outside. It was not ancient. His eyes followed a spiral glass staircase to the ceiling. The short entrance gave way to a gigantic room that was awash in light from very large windows that faced south, delivering plenty of natural light. There were numerous brightly colored shelves filled with pottery in different phases of completion surrounding the workspace of six pottery wheels. At a few of the wheels, workers and students sat focused on shaping their pottery; they took the time to look up and give big smiles to Jacob and Grandpa.
A handsome middle-aged woman leaned over and flipped a switch to stop her potter's wheel from spinning, wiped some clay from her hands and then her forehead, and sprang forward with a beaming greeting.
“Welcome men,” she said as she greeted Jacob and Grandpa. Jacob felt his posture lengthen as he heard the lady including him in the club of men.
“Hello, Peter” the lady then reached out to shake Jacob's hand. “This must be your grandson I’ve heard so much about.”
“Yes, this is Jacob. Jacob, this is Mrs. Fukumoto who owns this wonderful studio.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Fukumoto.”
“You can call me Yumiko. All my students do.”
“Yumiko,” Jacob echoed in reply.
“That's right. Well, today I’m going to teach you a little about the process of making pottery. And maybe Jacob can try shaping some clay at the pottery wheel. How's that sound, Jacob?”
“That sounds good. I’ve worked with clay before. Right, Grandpa?”
“Yes, he has,” said Grandpa with a wink to Yumiko.
Jacob noticed the wink and thought to himself. “I guess they have their own code.”
Yumiko reached into the large pocket of her pottery apron and retrieved a cell phone. “Let me turn off my phone so we'll have fewer interruptions. Well, where to start?” Yumiko strained to reach for a small finished bowl resting on a nearby shelf. “So, it takes about a week to turn a lump of clay into a finished piece of pottery that's ready for sale like this one. I often start by making a drawing of the pottery I want to create.”
Yumiko led Jacob and Grandpa over to a large drafting table. “I first think about how the pottery will be used. If it's a bowl, will it have some kind of useful purposes such as holding water or maybe hot tea…”
“Or bubblegum,” said Jacob.
“Yes, bubble gum. Good. Or will its purpose instead be to simply sit on a shelf and look beautiful; no reason is less important than any other.”
Jacob moved closer to the table to see how the large white drafting paper would be filled. Yumiko began to effortlessly glide her large Copic marker across the thick paper taped to her table. She drew numerous large shapes gradually connecting the shapes in sweeping vertical and horizontal motions. She then turned to Jacob. “It’s all about using the imagination and matching the design with the purpose.”
After the drawing was completed, Jacob, Grandpa, and Yumiko stood in front of large storage shelves of clay that reached the ceiling. The shelves reminded Jacob of the shelves at his school where he stored his belongings.
“Next, we must choose the right clay,” said Yumiko.
“There are different types?” asked Jacob.
“Just as there are different types of people for different types of jobs, so there are different types of clay for different types of pottery.” Jacob understood the analogy and felt even more interested in what Yumiko was saying.
“After choosing the right clay we come to the shaping of the pottery. The potter's wheel here is one method, but there are other methods. What method is best depends on the finished look we want the piece of pottery to have,” said Yumiko.
“Bring it in a little tighter, Jo Jo,” said Yumiko to her pretty young pupil behind the wheel.
Jacob noticed Jo Jo. He did not notice what she was working on.
Yumiko affectionately punched Jacob in the shoulder. “You look like you're eager to try the wheel yourself.”
“Oh, yeah, I am.”
“In time, in time,” said Yumiko. Jo Jo gave Jacob a big smile.
“Okay,” said Jacob.
“I will now show you where we fire the pottery,” said Yumiko.
Jacob and Grandpa were led into a small room that was emitting a great deal of heat. There were three large ceiling fans and a deafening roar, much like a jet engine, was felt as well as heard.
“We call this the dragon room, Jacob,” said Yumiko.
He smiled, instantly aware of the origin of the name. They all stood in front of what looked and felt like a giant oven.
“Is this the oven?” asked Jacob.
“It’s called a kiln. It produces temperatures sufficient to complete certain ceramic processes, such as hardening and adhering glaze to pottery. There are usually two firings. Our initial firing removes the water from the pottery. Later we will fire the pottery to adhere the glaze to the pottery.”
Jacob’s face turned a few shades redder while standing in front of the kiln.
“Jacob, would you like to be freed from the dragon room?” asked Yumiko.
He laughed and motioned to leave the room immediately.
“Let’s grab some ice tea and cookies. And then I will show you how we decorate the pottery,” said Yumiko.
Jacob, Grandpa, and Yumiko had some tea and cookies in a small kitchen. Yumiko told Jacob about her childhood in Japan and how she came to America. Jacob shared with Yumiko what his school was like. Jacob did not like the tea or the Japanese cookies. But he sensed that pretending to like the snack was the right thing to do. Soon Jacob and Grandpa continued their tour.
“Now, gentlemen, I'd like to show you where we decorate the pottery, the glazing area. Decorating our pottery is one of the most exciting aspects of working in clay. You add color and life to the plain barren surface of the piece.”
“What's glazing?” Jacob asked without a lot of confidence.
“Good question. Glaze is this white stuff here. It is used to decorate, waterproof and even strengthen pottery. There are many methods for applying glaze to pottery. You can use a brush, a sponge, a dipping method, or an etching method. Richard here is using an etching technique; where he uses a dentistry tool to etch away the pattern which will later be filled with glaze.”
“It looks difficult,” said Jacob.
“It just takes a lot of practice and patience. Well, Jacob, I know you’re itching to get on one of the pottery wheels. Let’s get you something to wear and some clay.”
Jacob smiled enthusiastically.
After Jacob got fitted with a clay apron that was a size too big, he sat down at a potter’s wheel where he waited for instructions. Yumiko began explaining to Jacob the most important principles of working with clay on the wheel. He learned working on the potter’s wheel is also called 'wheel throwing'. He learned a kneading method that prepares the clay by removing air bubbles called 'wedging'. Yumiko took a ball of prepared clay and explained how important it was to center the clay on the wheel. Jacob was fascinated by the ease with which Yumiko delicately applied water and sponges to the clay while pushing on the outside making the clay rise up to create the side of the bowl.
“Each push in one direction requires an equal push in the opposite direction,” Yumiko explained.
Jacob soon received his own ball of clay and started the process of centering his clay to the wheel. He struggled with the foot accelerator that controls the speed of the wheel.”Whoa! Stop! Stop! Stop!” exclaimed Jacob, as the wheel seemed to accelerate on its own. “Can I try it again?”
Despite repeated efforts, Jacob was soon humbled by the fact that the potter’s wheel required a lot of skill and would take a lot of time to master. “I didn't know making a bowl was so comp
licated,” said Jacob.
After he finished up on the potter’s wheel, Yumiko took him and Grandpa to the pottery room. There were hundreds of shelves holding beautiful pieces of pottery, many of which were cooling off from their recent time in the kiln.
“So once again, the process of making pottery involves, design, choosing the clay, shaping, firing the pottery, glazing the pottery, and firing it a second time.
“What happened to these?” Jacob pointed to a gigantic bin full of broken pieces of pottery.
“Working with clay is a delicate process. Only about half the pottery started makes it through all the different phases to the end. When you think about it, this is similar to how nature works,” said Yumiko.
“So these,” Jacob pointed to a shelf of completed pottery, “are the survivors?”
“Yes, that’s right, very good Jacob. That’s what makes them so special,” said Yumiko.
Grandpa, feeling pride in his grandson's grasp of a complicated concept, grabbed Jacob affectionately and then glanced at his watch. “I think it’s about time we start making our way back home.”
“I want to thank you, Yumiko, for showing us the process of making pottery; it was a lot of fun,” said Grandpa to Yumiko.
“Yes, thank you, Yumiko. It was great,” Jacob added in agreement.
“Before we go, I would like to purchase one of your beautiful bowls.”
Grandpa ended up deciding on a white and blue bowl with a couple small Japanese characters painted on it.
“That's a nice one, Grandpa!”
“You have excellent taste, Peter. Let me wrap that up for you.”