益子で作陶を勉強したいと望んでいたら、益子作陶家の瀬戸浩氏から誘いを受けそこで勉強する事になりました。

瀬戸氏は京都美術大学で学び、その作品のクオリティの高さ、技術習得の早さは、当時の若い作陶家の中で目立った存在でした。

狭い陶房には薪釜などがあり、私はそこで日本独特の陶芸をゼロから教えてもらいました。

当時２４歳の私は、１日中陶芸の町に腰を据える事はまったく経験がありませんでした。

その当時、粘土を陶房まで運搬する術は馬車でした！　そしてもう一つ驚いた事は、アメリカではご飯に醤油をかけて食するのは一般的でしたが、日本ではそのようにして食さない事でした！

I was invited to work as a student at the workshop of ceramic artist Hiroshi Seto.

Mr. Seto had recently finished  his studies at Kyoto School of Fine Arts, and had become a leader amongst Mashiko’s younger potters because of the uniqueness of his work and the speed at which it was evolving.

I was allowed to assist in the operation of Mr. Seto’s small ceramic workshop, at which there was a wood burning kiln.   During my stay with him, I gained basic experience in the Japanese approach to hand made pottery production.

Before coming to Mashiko I had never been to a place where ceramists actually made a living from making pottery on a full time basis.

At that time, clay was delivered to my teacher’s workshop on a wagon that was pulled by a horse!  Another big surprise was to learn from Mr. Seto that Japanese people NEVER pour soy sauce onto their rice at the dinner table!