Matsui Museum, Japan

These lovely pots together with Bingata dyed materials and large wooden chests were wonderful to see. I am sure that Ali Baba would have found these pots very acceptable.

More Views from My House

Two pictures from my house. The top picture is of a small wild garden by my back door , the other is from my dining room window. Both these gardens basicly look after themselves by self seeding or permanent plantings and need very little maintenance.

Growing Grass

With frequent Spring showers the grass growth this year has been phenomenal. Having had problems with my old mower I decided to change to a new large ride-on mower which I find to be very good. My old tractor was taken as a trade-in but I heard yesterday that it had been sold on to a collector for restoration. This is great news as I had had it for forty-two years and it was about twenty years old when I bought it. It was very reliable and I was sorry to see it go but it seems to have gone to the right person.

Fujina Pottery

The next pottery we visited in the area along the Japan Sea coast was the Fujina Pottery. With these stacks of wood it was obvious that we had reached the right place. This pottery is mentioned in one of Bernard Leach's books and his influence was still apparent in their work. Somewhere along the way they seemed to have lost Bernard's ability to pull good jug handles - theirs were really not very good but obviously made in the Leach style. It was from this area that I got the idea of making lanterns using mostly found materials.

Banshozan Pottery

Unfortunately I was unable to get any photographs of this pottery's work but the kiln was an excellent example of a climbing kiln and their garden was exquisite. The reference to this pottery in the book "Modern Japanese Ceramics" does not fit with my recollection of their work which was more Mingei style. The Banshozen Pottery was situated on the Japan Sea coast South-West of Matsui.

More Pictures from My House

These pictures were taken looking out my dining room window where the blossom trees and dogwoods are now flowering beautifully.

Some Views out my Windows

Here are two images looking out my sitting room window to a black bamboo which was sparkling with raindrops. The other is looking out my bathroom door towards a lovely blossom tree. All my windows and doors look out onto gardens and next blog I will post two more images.