“...Ozaki has become one of the area's most respected potters.”
Matthew Kangas; Ceramics Monthly, November 2009

Some of my earliest memories are of swimming around in the tide pools near Hilo, HI and playing under the tree ferns near Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  This was the beginning of my interest in and love for the natural world.  My grandfather, though untrained, created beautiful bonsai and built the Japanese inspired gardens surrounding his home.  That had a great influence on my developing sense of aesthetics.   

In 1969, I enrolled at the University of Puget Sound with the intention of studies in Biology.  As a junior, I took my first ceramics class and was hooked; I finished a degree in Biology but my main interest was now in ceramics. 

At UPS my work was influenced by my teachers F. Carlton Ball and Kenneth D. Stevens and visiting artist Frederick L. Olsen.  Carlton’s enthusiasm for clay got me into ceramics.  From Fred I learned many of the techniques I use today.  Ken’s work was what I aspired to.  I created work using clay and glazes like Ken but more importantly, he taught me careful craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Over the years, my interest in the traditional Japanese arts has grown.  At first my interest was in plants and gardens.  This quite easily transitioned to an interest in Ikebana (flower arranging), and then to Chanoyu (Japanese tea ceremony) and its influence on pottery.  As I’ve learned more about the Tea ceremony, I have come to know how central that aesthetic is to Japanese art.  While my work has changed several times during my career, this aesthetic is the underlying foundation to it all.

Artist Statement

For nearly 50 years, Reid Ozaki has been creating finely crafted work influenced by the ceramic traditions of Japan.  Ceramics has not only served as a point of artistic focus for Ozaki, but also as a gateway into Japanese aesthetics via art forms like Ikebana and Chanoyu.  The study of the Japanese Tea Ceremony and its customary utensils has become a potent source of inspiration and key to the aesthetic that he pursues.

“From very early in my life, I have been surrounded by the traditional Japanese arts.  My strongest influence was my grandfather’s love of Bonsai, gardens and plants.  When I started my ceramic career, this very naturally led to an interest in the art of Ikebana, then to Chanoyu, the Japanese Tea Ceremony.  The study of the Tea Ceremony and the making of the utensils are the key to the aesthetic I am trying to understand. “ 

“My ceramic vessels are informed by my interest in and love for the natural world and an interest in the aesthetics of the Japanese Tea ceremony.  My work endeavors to synthesize these ideas with Western techniques and materials.”

          “I do not seek to follow in the footsteps of men of old; I seek the things they sought.”  Matsuo Basho