In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we’re reading our oral history interview with ceramic artist and educator, Toshiko Takaezu (1922-2011), who was known for her “closed forms.” In her 2003 interview, she described her interest in making monumental clay sculptures that were almost entirely closed, save for one small air hole necessary for the firing process: “This form is like a canvas, a three-dimensional canvas, anyway. In a certain stage of my life I decided, if I don’t do this now, I will never make it. The time was right to make big pieces. And also, I like the idea of dancing around the piece when I put the glaze on. You get the big brush and you walk around.” Read the interview transcript at http://s.si.edu/2pdXhbC #APAHM
These photographs of Takaezu with her closed forms are from her papers, http://s.si.edu/2qKArsd
