KOBO Gallery (at Higo) Japantown/International District 604 South Jackson Street Seattle, Washington 98104 (206)381-3000
Hanako Nakazato
Betsy Williams
Exhibition Opening:
Saturday, December 1, 4-6pm
Betsy Williams will give a slide talk about her studio work in Japan and New Mexico on Saturday, December 1, at 5pm.
Hanako Nakazato is a 14th generation potter from Japan. She moved to the US at age 16 to pursue her education. While in the US, she took a renewed interest in her cultural roots, especially the Japanese food culture, and decided to return home to to learn pottery from her father, Takashi Nakazato.
Since her debut exhibition at Manyodo Gallery in Tokyo, in 2000, she has shown her work extensively in Japan and the US. In 2007, she established her studio monohanako in Karatsu, Japan. In 2010, she established another studio monohanako west in Union, Maine. She currently divides her time between Japan and the US.
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BETSY WILLIAMS, originally from Georgia, attended St. John's College, studying Russian language and Russian literature. Her specialty took her to Russia, then later to New York City - ostensibly for a simple change of pace. Betsy was hired by Gunma Bank, the New York branch of a regional Japanese bank, and was trained as a money market trader.
It turned out that during her five years at the bank, her Japanese co-workers introduced her to the incredible world of Japanese culture, especially ceramics, and ultimately Betsy left her job with the bank to apprentice with ceramist Yutaka Ohashi of Karatsu, Japan. She studied with Mr. Ohashi for 4½ years before returning to New Mexico to build her own adobe house and studio, completing her wood-fired kiln in 2001. Betsy and her husband Mark Saxe, a stone sculptor, live in the mountains northeast of Santa Fe, with their two dogs and one turtle. She has been a professional potter for ten years.
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