Back in Business…The Higuchis Unveil Their Newly Rebuilt Studio

While Dalia was off visiting the Mashiko Pottery Festival last week and checking on post-earthquake progress there, I was busy visiting Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi, two of the world’s foremost Pâte de Verre glass artists up at their newly rebuilt studio at the northern end of Nikko National Park. As you might recall from a previous post, much of the Higuchis’ studio and about 40% of their artwork had been destroyed in the Great East Japan Earthquake. The weekend of November 5-6 was their joyous open house – a celebration of their rebuilding and faith in going forward – and we were lucky enough to be invited. Ironically, they had set up their entire exhibit by Thursday afternoon the 3rd, only for there to be a fairly strong quake that evening, which many of my local readers will remember. For safety, they took everything back down and only put it in place just before the weekend open house.

Simple linked buildings flooded with light house their bedroom, living quarters and studio, all surrounding their gorgeous garden which is the main source of inspiration for their work as well as much of their actual food. Upon arrival we were greeted by giant cabbage leaves spread about the grass. They were so life-like, we weren’t sure if they were glass or not!

Everything in the studio was back to being ship-shape and orderly. The rows and bins of glass powders and frits were a modern installation all their own. In the spirit of recycling, all the broken glass works are being ground down and re-used.

We got to see their process from sketch…

…to detail demonstration…

…to finished installation.

Their renderings of the everyday vegetables and flowers around them are so life-like as to almost be surreal. The asparagus looked so delicious that I was ready to pick it up and eat it.

The bearded irises were amazing.

Color and detail, here on a cyclamen panel…

…and here on a trumpet vine.

The little boxes and vessels made me swoon – I wanted this little sakura box…

…or the wisteria.

Some boxes had secret surprises inside.

Can you see the snail and the water droplet on the hydrangea leaf?

I don’t often include pictures of my kids on the blog, but here she provides a sense of scale. Keep in mind she just turned 8. Largest glass cabbage known to man – perhaps the original was the largest ever grown too.

Speaking of the girls, the younger ones had a ball catching praying mantids in the garden. They strongly suggested that Shin-ichi remake his praying mantis sculpture which had been broken in the earthquake.

And the pièce de résistance, which I cannot resist showing is this…

…their bathroom counter, covered in glass roses, and even including clear glass water drops and a few small insects.

Warm thanks to the Higuchis for hosting us and to Debra for introducing us!!

The previous week, Keiko Iishi, a former assistant to the Higuchis during a Corning Museum of Glass education program and a glass blowing artist in her own right, held a charming solo exhibit in a small Ginza gallery. She had been so disheartened by the loss of family and friends in the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that she had planned to cancel this long-awaited show. With strong encouragement from her supporters, she decided to go forward and it was a treat of color and pattern.

Having just made butterbeer with my elder daughter and her friends, the piece in the center rear, entitled “Honeydukes,” caught my eye. Keiko, a huge Harry Potter fan, said I was one of the only ones to get the reference.

Congratulations to Keiko on a very successful exhibition!

The net result of viewing all this modern glass art? I think we might need to sign up for classes at Hot Sand on the Asbury Park boardwalk this summer.

Nov 17, 2011 By tokyojinja in Artist Spotlight, Earthquake, Gardens, Glass, Kids Tags: glass, glass blowing, Japan earthquake, Japanese art, Keiko iishi, Kimiake Higuchi, Pate de Verre, Shin-Ichi Higuchi

Artist Spotlight…Updates on the Higuchis, Mashiko Pottery Rebuilding and PaperGlueBamboo

It becomes two months soon on that day. The season comes round as if nothing had happened, and the flowers are in full bloom in our garden. The petals of the wild cherry tree begins to scatter like snowing, it means the last chapter in spring here.
-Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi

Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi are working towards rebuilding their studio. In that light they have uploaded photos of many of their works for sale to their website http://www.higuchis.com. Proceeds will be used to fund the rebuilding. They report, “the builder started constructing several days ago. They said that they have difficulty to obtain the necessary materials because many production plants also received serious damages by the tsunami, so that the completion of the studio is delayed more greatly than the schedule. We will work over the idea of the work while enjoying gardening for a while.”

Meanwhile, over in Mashiko, there was a great turnout for the annual spring pottery festival. Although about 20% fewer people attended than last year, it was still many more than predicted and visitors were buying strongly. “I felt many customers came and bought our works to cheer us up, ” said Tomoo Hamada, and “by the autumn pottery fair, well-heeled potteries here will have rebuilt their kilns.” The Mashiko Pottery Fund is still taking donations and the money raised will be crucial to getting the kilns going again.

I had the pleasure of meeting potter Ken Matsuzaki at the Mashiko group exhibition at Gallery St. Ives last month. Here you can see him standing where his kiln used to be after cleaning the broken mess from the earthquake. This is where he will rebuild it.

And this is his pile of broken shards…

Gallery St. Ives currently has an exhibition of work by Clive Bowen and Masaaki Shibata running until the 22nd of May. More information and photos can be found on their Facebook page.

Artist Lisa George of PaperGlueBamboo has been doing her share to help, donating 100% of all proceeds from sales of her ikkanbari and Tsukiji shopping baskets to the Red Cross and All Hands.

Unfortunately, she won’t be visiting Japan this spring, so online orders are the way to go. Shipping in the USA is easy and there is still time to have things arrive here in Japan for sayonara parties. Visit her Etsy shop and remember all proceeds are being donated to Japan relief charities. And the big news is that it looks like she may be returning to Japan in the autumn!

I had meant this post to be published on the 11th of May, but I have been waiting for more updated information. Please excuse the delay.

Related Posts:
Shattered Glass…A Small Tribute to the Work of Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi
After the Earthquake…Help Rebuild the Kilns at Mashiko
Artist Spotlight…Lisa George and the Modern Art of Ikkanbari at PaperGlueBamboo
Image credits: 1 & 2. via Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi, 3. via mohri63, 4 & 5. Ayumi Horie, 6. Lisa George

May 19, 2011 By tokyojinja in Artist Spotlight, Glass, Porcelain and Pottery Tags: Kimiake Higuchi, Mashiko, Paper Glue Bamboo, Shin-Ichi Higuchi

Shattered Glass…A Small Tribute to the Work of Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi

“Because of the great earthquake, his house, studio, and storage house were devastated:

the pillars of the house were snapped, all window panes were smashed.

on the floor in the studio, all colors of frits were scattered.

the heavy kilns moved unbelievably away.

To my sorrow, it seemed like all of their glass works in the storage house were damaged.”

-Keiko, friend of Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi

This is just one small story of many in the aftermath of the great Japan earthquake of March 11, 2011. Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi are masters of the art glass technique known as Pâte de Verre, in which glass powder is packed into a mold and then fired in the kiln. Glass Art Magazine has said “many see Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi as the King and Queen of Pâte de Verre. Their work in this medium possesses luster, translucency and shine that seems unfathomable.” Both artists are fine after the quake, but their studio, home and much of their work has been destroyed.

The Higuchis are both inspired by items from nature. Kimiake often works with flowers or vegetables she grows herself in her extraordinary gardens and creates works of such startling clarity and color one can almost believe they are real. “I pick each bloom or leaf in the moment of its prime, and in my hands the plants become glass.”

Shin-ichi uses insects as a common theme in his work to express his concern for the environment and the loss of so many small creatures. “In our civilization, human ego is destroying so much of nature,” he explains, “Some of the most victimized are the smallest creatures. My pieces convey a warning about the insects and also my feelings about their loss.” I love how modern and yet quintessentially Japanese the honeycomb pattern is on his mosaic Bees Casket in the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass, where they had planned to do their annual workshop this summer. Unfortunately, it looks as if this will have to be cancelled.

Photo credits: 1. via GlassFacts.info, 2 & 3. via Corning Museum of Glass

Mar 15, 2011 By tokyojinja in Artist Spotlight, Earthquake, Glass Tags: earthquake, glass, Japan, Japan earthquake, Kimiake Higuchi, Pate de Verre, Shin-Ichi Higuchi