Kentaro-Gama

　　　　　　　




First of all, my musical activities conduct me to be fascinated the Andes of South America, besides, the many people I met there and came into close during my stays in these rural villages of Peru and Bolivia had a considerable influence on my own way of seeing and thinking about things thereafter. Then, I found the charm of this rural life despite its inconvenience.

Now I rent a house in the mountains of Yamanashi prefecture (550 m altitutde). It takes 30 minutes by car to go shopping in town. But the house is surrounded by nature. There’re the water comes from a small stream nearby, and the water source is clogged with dead leaves, so it has to be cleaned regularly. We can drink cold, tasty natural water all year round. It's hard to collect lots of dead leaves in the mountains and turn them into humus, but thanks to that, we can get the fresh, pesticide-free vegetables. The life passed in the mountains gives us an opportunity for the first time to try everything we could image.

　　　　　

　　　　　

Under this environment, I came up with the idea of making pottery.
Generally, people start by attending a class or something and learn about clay, but in my case, it was different. I first ran to a car rental store to rent a truck to haul bricks and cement to build a pottery kiln. Most things can be found on the internet, so I did a lot of research before acting, but I kept making mistakes and progressing a little. If I couldn't find anything on the internet, I would go to my ceramicist friends' exhibitions and ask lots of questions to learn.

　　　　　

　　　　　

I make my vessels by hand.
At first, I tried out different techniques, making crockery for my own use. I was fascinated by the harmony of the three layers of iron-rich red clay, clay and glaze, and since then I've essentially used this method for all my pieces.

Molded clay is clay-coated and unglazed at 800°C, then glazed with vitreous glaze and fired at 1,250°C.
When the clay is covered with clay, it is irregular, creating darker and lighter areas. When the piece is fired, the red clay of the base can be seen through the thin areas of the glaze, adding depth to the expression. No pigments are used for coloring, but metallic compounds such as copper oxide, cobalt oxide and glaze are fired to produce beautiful transparent colors.
I started making ceramic plates after being inspired by the work of Finnish artist Rut Bryk. I started to imitate her by pressing clay into plaster molds to make molds, but now I design each piece on a flat plate molded by pressing liquid clay from a tube. I was introduced to ceramics in the Andes of South America that brought me to pottery, and I've continued to create as the mood of the day strikes me. I feel the great pleasure to seeing what direction my desires will take me and what kind of work I will be able to produce in the future.
Kentaro Kimura