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As a child, I was fascinated by my grandmother's treasures hidden away in the long buffet and only brought out on special occasions. There were the multi-coloured Fiestaware and the delicate china plates that my uncle brought from Japan at the armistice of the Korean War. Every piece had silver rims decorated with tiny blue flowers. What caught my attention were the porcelain-handled steak knives – one set was yellow with small flowers and raised dots, and the other was a deep lilac. It was during the twelve years that I stayed with my grandmother that I also became fascinated with the red clay in her flower beds. Making dishes became an everyday pastime. Clearly, this period of my life left an indelible impression as clay became my ikigai.
I never intended to collect ceramics and nothing that I was given or purchased was viewed as an investment. The first pieces were gifts from my teacher, John Reeve. In 1976, I took the wheel-throwing course at Sheridan College in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. On weekends, Reeve would borrow my car to visit his mother and his friends near Barrie, Ontario. At the end of the term, as a way of thanking me, he gave me five porcelain pieces he had made while teaching. They include a temmoku teapot, much in the Leach style, a white porcelain vase with his icon rollover lip and lug handles, and several tea bowls. It was, however, not until the following year, in 1977, that I purchased my first work, a vase, thrown upside down and raku fired, by Paul Soldner who was, at the time, teaching four of us raku and low soda firing at his home and studio in Aspen. Soldner had the practice of selling his work at $100 per inch. The vase set me back $1000, an incredible sum at the time, overreaching my budget. That vase has travelled with me to various parts of Canada and Europe and remains one of my most valued pieces.
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