Beauty is not a noisy thing. It is quiet and strong and gentle. We can find it in the simplest and most unassuming places, and it can give us hope and solace through even the darkest trials of our lives. I have always known this, but that knowledge is even stronger now. We are a part of nature; that part that looks at itself and recognises beauty, even in the direst of times. My task as a potter is to help that beauty find new form in clay, to enrich the lives of others. When I create my vessels, it is so that I can share that beauty, that hope and strength, with the people I love. Disaster has served only to strengthen that resolve.
Now that we have finally rebuilt the wood kiln,
stronger than before, it is the new works from the first firings of this
kiln that I wish to share with you. I hope that using them brings as much joy to
you as creating them brought to me.
Two years have passed since my last
exhibition at Ebiya Gallery, and I thank you for your patience. These two years have seen tremendous change
for us. The
recent disasters, both natural and man-made,
have brought great change for me and my
family, but we have come through the fear and tragedy with the help and support of family, friends and strangers. My family has found refuge in a new place, a 140 year old farm house in the mountains
of Minakami, and we have built a new life here in
Japan.
The centre of Japan is a bridge, the “Nihonbashi”.
Walk north for four hundred metres along the main road of Tokyo, and on the
corner of the crossroads is the Ebiya Bijutsuten Gallery. Established in Kyoto
in the 1670’s, they came to Tokyo, as purveyors to the Imperial household, with
the Meiji Emperor almost 150 years ago. For nine generations they have been
dealers in tea ceremony ware and antiquities. In 1993 it was my honour to be the
first contemporary artist to exhibit in their gallery, and to be the only contemporary
artist to exhibit there annually since. Except, of course, for last year; my
last exhibition there was in November 2010.
I invite you all to join me and my family for the opening reception at the gallery from 12:00 midday on Friday the 23rd of November 2012.
With
heartfelt gratitude
Euan Craig
11/11/12