ARITA PORCELAIN VESSELS PROGRAM

The Arita Porcelain Vessels Program introduces UNM students to traditional creative processes from Arita, Japan that have evolved over the past 400 years. Students practice ‘art as a way, not a thing’ resulting in layers of creative practice within each porcelain form. This handmade ‘true pocelain’ is the most durable ceramic, with glaze colors becoming brilliant and translucent after the firing. Students create functional works reflecting a unique aesthetic from this time and place, with the connection to a living art.

Traditional porcelain processes from Arita were introduced to UNM’s faculty by Sensei Manji Inoue, holder of an ‘Important Intangible Cultural Property’ of Japan. Sensei Inoue continues to share this international art with students at UNM, since 1980 – one of the few universities in the world with the distinction to create porcelain within this contemporary tradition.

Kathryne Cyman

Kathryne Cyman

Professor of Practice

Kathryne grew up in Michigan and traveled west to study Fine Arts at Arizona State University. She received a BFA in Ceramics in 1984. Kathryne considered handmade pottery an art form, even though ceramic...