Kana Ueda　植田佳奈

A thin wooden spatula is pressed against a lump of clay to one by one add an array of barely visible delicate lines. After a while, these lines become an accumulation of countless stria, resulting in a certain texture to emerge upon the smooth surface of the clay. This technique, which could be regarded as a form of “inlaying” and what Ueda herself describes as a process of “creating texture,” is indeed a crucial procedure in the production of her work. Pigments such as gosu (cobalt-rich pigment with a deep indigo-blue color) are applied to the patterned surface, and when wiped off, the color remains only in the indentations made by the tool, creating a contrast between the white clay and the patterned areas where the color has penetrated. The artist also uses other experimentational methods to create a variety of works. She soaks molded melamine sponges in mud, dries them, and then fires them. The heat from the kiln burns away the sponge, and all that is left is a pumice-like ceramic object with a curious texture conceived through the bubbles from the sponge. Regardless of the technique that is employed, she attempts to facilitate a coexistence of "intentionality" and "unintentionality" in her works. Her works are conceived through the coexistence of "intention" by which she creates cracks in her work, and the “unintentionality” of not being able to anticipate how these fissures will come to manifest.

From the outset, Ueda has almost never gone into production with an image of the finished product in mind, such as the desire to make a vessel with a specific design, or for a certain kind of food or cuisine. What originally inspired her to start making ceramics was her high school experience of immersing herself in creating various forms on the potter’s wheel. The very time and process of engaging with the clay is what she has always considered most important, and this remains true of her practice today. She mentions that her practice as a ceramic artist is an extension of a child playing in the sandbox at the park. Recently, she has come to believe that what she is doing is an act of picking up and collecting each and every phenomenon, such as randomly generated patterns and textures that arise out of chance. Rocks crumble, and over a long period of time their edges are gradually smoothed and rounded while drifting in the water’s current, transforming them into stones. Such workings of nature seem to overlap with the tremendous amount of time she spends on her works, as well as the fact of her repeatedly engaging in the same tasks calmly in an almost subconscious state. When looking at her confrontation with the clay, far from the intention of making something beautiful or something that will sell, all words are seemingly powerless, and only the traces of time and hands engraved in the works appear to tell a story.

In addition to producing her works, Ueda regularly holds workshops on "creating texture.” The workshops invite participants to simply take the time making patterns on lumps of clay using various tools. Participants, who at first seemed resolute with the idea that they must do well, gradually became subconsciously absorbed in the task, with many feeling a sense of comfort and exhilaration afterward. Ueda states that she is interested in what kind of time people would experience if they were to engage with the tasks that she herself undertakes on a daily basis. Observing people working in a steady and focused manner in her workshops may be an attempt for her to objectively grasp the meaning of creating her own work. Ueda mentions that one of her concerns is that her technique has recently improved, and she has become more skillful. She believes that uncontrollable and unexpected phenomena are part of the charm of creating works, yet the more she improves the harder it is for such happenstance to occur. She also states that even if she wishes to go back to when she wasn’t that good, she is unable to do so, articulating that “At any rate, what is important is to subconsciously and steadily keep working.” Although her works end up in the hands of those who cherish and appreciate them, she herself is not at all conscious of how they will be seen. Kana Ueda is indeed an artist who creates work as if it were an act of life itself—like breathing—engaging in her practice for herself, and herself only.