On Friday, September 23rd a lecture entitled “Japanese Ceramics through the Eyes of a Texan,” was held at the Official Residence of the Consul-General of Japan. Lecturer and clay artist Shane Tidmore fascinated over 40 audience members with his unique experience working as Artist in Residence at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Institute (Shiga, Japan: 1999-2000). The audience was made up of Japan-America Society of Houston (JASH) members and citizens from the greater Houston area.
Prior to the lecture, Acting Consul-General Watabe gave some brief remarks welcoming Mr. Tidmore and touching on the historical importance of ceramics in Japanese culture. The president of JASH, Mr. Greg Crowe, echoed remarks of welcome and introduced JASH’s new executive director, Ms. Shree Kurlekar. Ms. Kurlekar in turn introduced Mr. Tidmore, including information on Mr. Tidmore’s schooling (M.F.A. Ceramics/Painting & Drawing, B.F.A. Ceramics/Geology: University of North Texas) and present position as an art teacher with the Houston Independent School District.
Mr. Tidmore’s lecture covered a brief history of ceramics in Japan. In addition to his time as Artist in Residence in Shiga, Japan he also briefly touched on his experience as apprentice to Kim Yong Moon, a master ceramic artist of South Korea. Examples of Mr. Tidmore’s work and traditional Japanese ceramics tools were on display and were referenced throughout the lecture. These 3-D visuals which Mr. Tidmore passed around, the slides prepared by Mr. Tidmore, along with his interactive lecture style greatly increased the enjoyment of the audience and led to the success of the lecture. The audience left the lecture with a deeper appreciation and interest in Japanese ceramics and Mr. Tidmore’s work as a clay artist.
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