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OPA and the Hokkaido potters (HPS) are
teaming up again.
You can read about the 2009 collaboration for more background. View the 20 selected tiles to travel to Hokkaido, Japan this Fall.
The Oregon Potters Association (OPA) has been invited to participate in the Hokkaido Pottery Society (HPS) anniversary program in October of 2013. From February to June, 2013, OPA members will teach clay workshops to Oregon special needs and at-risk children and youth, K-12. In late August 2013, 80 of those children's tiles will be shipped to Sapporo, Japan for a large exhibition of 504 tiles made by special needs children from both countries. It will be displayed in the busy underground plaza of the downtown Sapporo train station.
While Hokkaido Pottery Society members are giving tile workshops at Special Education schools in Hokkaido Province, OPA members will teach workshops to special needs and high-risk children in Oregon. In cooperation with HPS, we introduce not only clay experiences, but also valuable cross-cultural connections for the children in both countries. In the classroom, we offer an educational experience that is a window into the world of artistic expression through the medium of clay: its physical nature, its long historic past, and its creative possibilities. The clay cements a bond between Japanese and American children as the tiles are being made, completed, shipped, installed and viewed at the exhibition and again in the presentations. It provides a connection between potters and children, speaking the common language of clay, as they see their work shown on the other side of the world. This fits perfectly with our full mission: "Promote Creativity, Excellence & Growth Through Education & Cooperative Spirit."
This joint show is made up of two parts:
- One part will be composed of tiles made by OPA and HPS potters. (View selected works)
- The second part will be composed of tiles made by special need youth from Hokkaido and
Oregon. Workshops are being formed by OPA and HPS members to assist the special needs children in the tile construction process.
Oregon children will construct 72, 6” tiles. They will become part of 504 total tiles to be
displayed in the underground plaza in the
downtown Sapporo train station.
Hokkaido children's tiles will be
fired by Kazunao Azuma, in his anagama kiln.
Oregon’s tiles may be fired in any manner.
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