Description
A piece must be practical enough to be used every day. It must be crafted at its place of origin, using traditional techniques and materials. And it must be handmade.
Japanese craft has long been revered for its quality and beauty, and skilled craftwork remains an important part of Japanese life. ‘Utsuwa’, meaning ‘for everyday use’, embodies the ethos of handmaking in Japan, where handcrafted wares must be as practical as they are beautiful.
This book takes us behind the scenes into the private studios of some of Japan’s most exciting artisans to reveal stories of material, method, place and culture. It guides us through quiet galleries and colourful marketplaces, where the provenance of a piece is central to its story.
Utsuwa is a love letter to the makers and sellers, and to all those who share the Japanese reverence for tradition and beauty.
Kylie Johnson and Tiffany Johnson are sisters living in Brisbane, Australia. They have been travelling to Japan together and separately for over fifteen years. In 2017, they started Kyoto Creative Tours to take small groups on bespoke tours of the makers, markets and galleries of Kyoto.
Kylie Johnson is a Brisbane-based ceramic artist, gallery owner and writer. Her ceramic studio and gallery, paper boat press, produces signature quote tags, Christmas ornaments and poetry vessels. Over the past six years, she has curated more than fifteen exhibitions of both Australian and Japanese artists in her gallery. Kylie's passion for further study in the craft of Japanese ceramics was rewarded in 2017 with a Churchill Fellowship, which enabled her to visit more than thirty galleries and markets in Japan and undertake two intensive courses in the art of ceramic repair known as kintsugi. Kylie has had two books of poetry published with Murdoch Books, in 2008 and 2010, and a collection of quotes from her ceramic work published by University of Queensland Press in 2014.
Tiffany Johnson has spent her professional life in book production. She first started in print production in newspapers but moved to London, where she worked at HarperCollins Publishers in the children's division. On her return to Australia, she worked as production manager for Steve Parish Publishing and then at Murdoch Books in Sydney. Tiffany returned to Brisbane ten years ago, where she established the Australia/New Zealand office for 1010 Printing and specialised in illustrated book printing.
