Time Traveling to Japanese Greyest Craft in Cultural Week 2017

The art of shaping clay or loam into beautiful ceramic things such as bowl, glass, tea pot, vase, and many others well known with the term yakimono (焼きもの) in Japanese language or pottery in general. Pottery has been long-lasting for almost hundred decades in Japan. During the Japanese empire, the art of pottery used for making tea set for Japanese tea ceremony. However, pottery still lasted until nowadays. Through Cultural Week 2017, we were able to see the process and even tried to create pottery led by one of the expert. 

Pottery Workshop Participants

On October 29^th, 2017 located in Building B129, International Community for Student through one of their annual event “Cultural Week 2017” carried us opportunity to witnessing and tried creating the majestic Japanese craft called pottery through their workshop. Along with their tagline “Time Travel”, Cultural Week 2017 providing workshop about things that has been lasting for almost hundred decades ago and still exist until nowadays. The workshop was led by Product Design Lecturer from Faculty School of Design in UPH named Geoffry Tjakra. He has finished his education on Faculty of Art in United States. Passionately he told us about the basic Japanese philosophy of pottery and short history about tea ceremony during the Edo era. After bequeathed us brief understanding about the philosophy he started to guide us step by step to make it. From the basic steps to give soft massage to the clay until put it into the oven. While guiding us, he also continuing story about the Edo era and several crucial things to create good pottery. He said that the art of pottery should be done full hearted and with passion, in order to create good result while we are in the molding step. Hence all of the participants were satisfied.

Molding step or well known as the third step

Asri Amanta as the head of committee confirmed that she chose pottery as one of her annual event’s workshop was it considered as one of the oldest craft, thus she wanted to take us through her time travel theme, to witnessing something that already exist long time ago. In sum, pottery workshop does not only give us new experience, but we also could take the final result of our works. It was a fun, new, remarkable experience for the participant that Cultural Week 2017 brought. Hopefully Cultural Week 2018 might bring greater experience as well, let’s see and see yaa next year Cultural Week 2018!