Tom Davidson

Artist's Statement

(The image to the right is entitled "Black Satin-Doll Bowl and Storage Vessel" which can be found on our website.  Click here to view.) 

I am a retired computer programmer from YSU (30 years there).  In 1991 I approached Mike Moseley about the possibility of enrolling in his ceramic classes so that I could make my own classically-styled Japanese bonsai containers.  At that time I had some 150+ bonsai in my collection and finding quality containers like I saw in the Japanese bonsai books was nearly impossible (both finding and affording).  Although I had some limited experience with ceramics at the time, I wanted to start at the ground floor with Intro to Ceramics, fulfill all the assigned projects and then try my hand at bonsai containers on the side.  Although it was more difficult than I imagined, I eventually succeeded in making pots I could put my trees in.  Several years, many classes and hundreds of pots later I realized that I enjoyed making the ceramics more than I did tending and styling the trees.  Also, the closeness I felt working with other ceramic students and Mike made the ceramics lab my home away from home, much to my wife's initial dismay.  Forunately she is now my biggest ceramics fan.  With all this in mind, I made the decision to pursue the crafting of all types of Japanese and Chinese ceramics and left bonsai behind (except for the dozen or so trees I still have).

I soon found that I was acquiring just about every book I could find (written in English) on the subject of Oriental pottery.  I quite literally couldn't put the books down and I found that the knowledge I was gaining was finding its way into my finished work.  I have since been able to duplicate the look of the majority of Japanese ceramic styles I was seeing in those books yet using my own shaped forms  to achieve them. I do admit I had to rely on finding substitute salt and high-fire glazes instead of the wood-fire looks of the 400-year-old Japanese pots.

In 2001, YSU had the fortune of inviting visiting artist Hou Rong, a Chinese-born sculptor, to work on site with us.  He had spent years working in and researching the burial pits of the terra cotta soldiers of the first Chinese emperor.  He was able to use his life-size molds he had made to craft a clay replica of a Chinese general.  He allowed a few of the more advanced students to work side-by-side with him to decorate the statue with rivets, armor adornments, shoe add-ons and other textural additions to the piece.  In Rong's month long absence we dried and fired the constructed sculpture.  When he returned he showed us his grey terra cotta patina-finish and how it was applied to make
the piece look as if it was buried in the pit itself.

After seeing the finished product, I got the idea that the same finish could be used to make clay vessels that looked like antique bronze pieces seen in museums I had visited.  He gave me a few pointers and urged me to give it a try.  The result has been most exciting.  The faux bronze clay pieces I have been able to make look so similar to 2000-year-old bronze that it amazes most who see it for the first time. Of course, a soon as they pick up the piece and feel how much lighter
it is, the ruse is over.

Today I am continuing the process of finding different forms to work with and glaze treatments to emulate.  The most recent Oni-hagi sharkskin glaze has gotten most of my attention lately.  Also, a square Western-styled Japanese tea caddy, known as a chaire, is inspring me to make more and more and more of these tiny, fascinating pots.

To see artwork for sale on this website by Tom Davidson, click here and search by artist's name.