【sms Interview】vol.021 Hinako Hirano

Welcome to our ‘spiral market selection’ interview series, where we look at living from the viewpoint of artists and creators engaged in craftsmanship for daily life. In our twenty-first interview, we spoke with Hinako Hirano, whose beautiful ceramics draw you in with their deep, richly toned glazes.

──Creating in Tajimi

I have been working ever since I graduated from the junior college of a fine arts university – that’s more than 20 years ago. My first job after graduation was part-time at a ceramics school. But I wanted to pursue ceramics in a more professional way so I studied at a studio run by Tajimi City in Gifu Prefecture. There were so many artisans making all kinds of fascinating things. I loved it so much I never left! Here I am surrounded by people extremely knowledgeable about clay and pottery, and I can tap into them when I want to test out something new in my work. They even share small amounts of materials that I can sample. It’s great.

I’ve always loved eating so it seemed only natural to make tableware. I use my ceramic creations for meals in my own home, making minor adjustments as I go. I also make accessories and I find that I can use pretty-coloured glazes from that work in my tableware too. It almost looks like the colours of foods have soaked into the dish. With the freedom to choose shapes too, it’s really a lot of fun.

──In dialogue with my glazes

I formulate my own glazes, but there are so many challenges into doing it, like determining depth of colour or the best application method based on the thickness of a piece. Depending on the temperature in the kiln, glazes can run too much or sometimes not even melt at all. The tiniest thing can have a big impact. Sometimes I even layer two different types of glaze, but it’s really hard because the degree of shrinkage varies by type. I have to change the clay I use based on the choice of glaze colour, and the outcome is also affected by how fine or coarse the grain of the clay is. I love staring at the tiny differences in glazes – if they have a shiny or unusually matte finish. It’s those variations that I incorporate into my creations subconsciously.