Art by NW: A tribute to Reid Ozaki’s nature-inspired ceramics

A palpable connection with the outdoors permeates all of Ozaki’s work, from his early designs featuring ginkgo leaves, shells and grasses to recent glazes and shapes that look organic — wood-fired pieces that resemble narrow-waisted gourds, soda-fired vessels that crackle with an orange flame and stoneware like something you might stumble upon in a rocky cove. 

Heritage also played a strong role in his work: It’s what sparked Ozaki’s interest in Japanese horticultural arts (his grandfather was self-taught in bonsai and gardening); ikebana (Ozaki made vessels designed specifically for this form of flower arranging); and the traditional tea ceremony (“Teapots are as close to sculpture as you can get,” he said, “and then you have to make sure it holds water”). 

In recent work he was exploring shino, a Japanese glaze from the 16th century containing feldspar, which creates a milky finish. In cups and vessels, he contrasted these swaths of pearly gray against a matte black background (a “slip glaze”), which he chose specifically because “It’s very black, and a little rough … it looks very much like lava,” he said.

While his work reflects Japanese aesthetics, Ozaki emphasized that he was deeply influenced by his experience in the Pacific Northwest — both in terms of the local potters who taught him, and in the earthy glazes he used in homage to the “seasonality” of the Puget Sound region. He loved seeing how the changing seasons altered the look of his leafy yard, which he had planted with Japanese maple and ginkgo trees and special botanical specimens.

“In Hawaii, there are no real seasons,” he said. But he noted the winter storms that pummel the north shores of the islands with waves that steal sand and leave rocks to clack against each other. “You’d get these wonderful forms,” he recalled of the rocky coast. “Surf-worn stones.” 

These were the impetus for a series of concave, asymmetrical forms, many of which contain their own removable pottery pebble — bringing to mind tide-pool explorations. When he picked one up to demonstrate, he smiled with the delight of a young boy playing at the ocean’s edge.