‘I make hand crafted, wheel thrown, wood-fired, porcelaneous-stoneware. Functional pottery inspired by Sustainability and Environment, Tradition and Innovation. I chose pottery as a career in 1978 at the age of 14, and worked part time in potteries in Australia until I graduated from Latrobe University with a BA in Ceramics at 21. I’ve been a full time professional potter ever since, coming to Mashiko, Japan in 1990 to hone my skills in the “Mingei” discipline. It was my honour to become “Deshi” apprentice to Tatsuzo Shimaoka, National Living Treasure in 1991. I established my own studio in Mashiko in 1994, where I developed my fast fire wood kiln. The triple disasters of 2011 forced us to move to Minakami in Gunma Prefecture, where we have set up our new home and studio in a traditional Japanese farm house, and I’ve built an earthquake resistant version of my kiln.
I became aware of the Greenhouse Effect and the consequences of burning fossil fuels in 1985, the last year of my ceramics degree. I came to Japan in 1990 to study traditional techniques, and in 1994 I developed my fast-fire wood-kiln. I raw fire to cone 12 in 14 hours, using 400kg of wood for about 400 pots a month. That works out neatly to 1kg of wood per pot. My wood is all local conifer, refuse from forest thinning and planned forest management, and it has all been tested so it is free of radioactive fallout contamination, which was a big issue after the Fukushima meltdown. We help with replanting, though the forestry companies already have reforesting incorporated into their process. I buy my wood from the local wood yard, which has certification from the Ministry of Environment. We now use no fossil fuels in the home or studio’ – Euan Craig
Website: https://euancraig.web.fc2.com/index.html
Instagram: @euan.craig
