NCECA in Phoenix Arizona

I attended NCECA on Thursday and Friday of the four day convention. On Thursday my friend Tom and I took the light rail to Phoenix and got there early because I was like a school child the day of a field trip. Let's just say I was excited. After checking in we floated around to the talks, demonstrations, movies, manufacturer/supplier room, and exhibits. I loved that the event was informal. That way I could float from room to room and not miss anything.

The company Brent did demonstrations to sell their Brent wheels in the manufacturer/supplier room. Tom entered to win a Brent wheel, but did not win. It was fun to see tools I have never seem before and equipment I had only heard about. Tom loved going into this hall and was very excited by all the tools, books, and toys. He made me excited, it's catchy and I bought some mud tools that I'm excited to try out in the studio.

Here is some pictures of the first demonstration we went to and we did not find it very exciting. The two ceramic artists demonstrating were Takeshi Yasuda and Tara Wilson. Although I enjoy both of their work I felt their stage presence could have been better. I wanted more stories and explaining of their techniques.

The next demonstration we saw was Jin-Gyu Heo, Onggi potter from Korea. I found his method incredible. He did not speak English, but had a translated who was highly entertaining and taught us the names of the tools and techniques used in Korea. I found it educational. Onggi known as the ware that breaths, is the most representative cultural asset to Korea. He showed everyone how he makes large scale storing jars in a short span of time. He told us he makes 40 jars a day!