[Ceramic artist: Ryo Takahashi] Serene Blue

As you head up the mountain, the sounds of the city gradually fade away.

Instead, all that reaches your ears is the sound of the wind rustling the trees, the birds chirping, and the dry crunch of fallen leaves under your feet.

Just when you think your view has opened up, a chimney suddenly appears on the side of the road.

This is the kiln of ceramic artist Ryo Takahashi.

We continue to produce our products in Shigaraki using a train kiln designed in the United States.

*Train kiln chimney

Takahashi first encountered pottery during his university days.

"The moment I touched the soil, I felt like all the resentment inside me was instantly released."

The words, spoken quietly, do not require much explanation.

When you touch the work, that feeling comes naturally.

An unnameable impulse that exists within everyone.

When it comes into contact with the soil, it finally begins to flow - this feeling is reflected in the appearance of the vessel.

The workshop is located about a five-minute drive from the kiln.

A traditional Japanese house nestled in a residential area of Shigaraki.

Stepping inside, you'll find a spacious work area, ample space for movement, and well-used tools quietly lined up.

There's just what you need to make it.

The smell of earth and the sound of the potter's wheel blended softly into the space.

Here, it feels like the hands and eyes are at work before the words.

Takahashi's pottery embodies the power of the earth, yet is somehow tranquil.

The shape and glaze are minimally decorated.

The vessels, modest yet with a definite presence, seemed to overlap in some way with Takahashi's demeanor, who conveys his thoughts through refined words.

The most striking pieces are those covered in blue glaze.

The blue is never just one color.

The blue that sinks deep in the light and feels like the surface of water changes to the blue of the sky when you change the angle.

It is as if the ever-changing blue in nature has been captured in the vessel.

The colors that are fixed in the kiln, guided by the flames and air currents, are there by chance, yet they are there by necessity.

※Works

Even though I had the ideal shape in mind, when I put it to work it felt a bit off.

I know what's different, but the answer isn't immediately clear.

With that time of standing still and the conflict in mind, I once again touch the soil.

In Takahashi's work, progress and stagnation are always present at the same time.

Still, he continues to create.

Instead of comparing yourself to others, face yourself as you were yesterday.

Impulse and reason, control and chance.

Instead of choosing one or the other, he moves his hand while holding both.

These vessels, which even accept contradictions, can accommodate the thoughts of each user.