The Tacoma Pottery Salon is a deliberate effort to distribute knowledge and build community; it’s a mostly-monthly art salon that gives potters a forum for career retrospectives, a place to meet other potters, and, of course, to eat.
Where this came from – Reid Ozaki
Several years ago, I came across the Japanese word shokunin. It’s generally translated as "craftsman" and is a title earned after years of practice and accomplishment; however, craftsman doesn’t quite capture the full meaning.
A nuanced understanding of shokunin is more than just a title or reference to the acquisition of a certain level of skill; it implies a responsibility to present one’s best work in a spirit of social consciousness, to honor the traditions of the craft, and to pass that knowledge on. I found this concept to be very attractive.
One of the things that started me thinking about shokunin in the context of the state of the local clay community was the decision of a friend and potter, Loren Lukens, to relocate to California. In a medium where it’s easy to hunker down in one’s practice, Loren’s studio was often "pottery central."
Any Thursday afternoon, you could always pop in to share lunch, get some information, or just enjoy some good humor. There was no real organization to it; it came about organically and was a gathering place for potters in the Seattle area and one of the focal points for the community.
That kind of casual, always-welcome atmosphere, has one essential ingredient: a fixed space.
Planning a lunch would require forethought and more effort. Someone has to get it on the calendar; people need to be available; we have to pick a place. It’s the opposite of a drop-in culture.
