Miyu - She's been my friend since we were teenagers, and it makes me realize how much older we've become.

She is now a ceramic artist active in London, but at her core, she has surprisingly not changed at all in the 15 years since she was a teenager.

- How long have you been living in London?

I think it's the sixth year now.

- Miyu always talks about things in a way that makes it seem easy, but there are many times when it seems that it's not that easy for other people, and that she has a lot of strength and determination.

Have you ever thought about your personality and the qualities of a potter?

Hmm... I originally studied mainly textiles in university and graduate school, and as for pottery, I learned from people around me who do pottery, looked up information on YouTube and Google, and learned as I went along, so I'm quite self-taught in many ways and I'm not sure if I can call myself a "ceramist"... but they're both "crafts" so there are a lot of similarities.

This is purely my own interpretation, but I think craft is a job that really requires perseverance, where you steadily repeat monotonous tasks every day as routine work, and when you compare your work after a year or so, you notice that the lines are neater, or that the distortions have been smoothed out a bit. I think it's a job where you repeatedly make small improvements that only you can see. It's by no means a flashy (?) job, and there's a lot of steady work, but I think that kind of work suits my personality quite well.

I'm not the type of person who thinks things through very logically or acts efficiently and skillfully, so it's a little surprising to hear people say I have guts (laughs), but I can go all out for things I like and am interested in, but I'm surprisingly unable to put in the effort for things I'm not interested in; it's a 0 or 10 kind of personality, so I've been really lucky to be able to continue doing what I love and turn it into a job, and I think I need to keep working hard so that I can continue doing it.

Miyu's studio in Wimbledon.

- When I was in London, there were pottery studios all over the place, ceramic markets where artists could easily participate, and it felt like pottery was deeply rooted in urban life. Even in the city, you can feel the texture of clay up close. That's great, isn't it?

Have you been influenced or inspired by such movements?

I think the fact that there are so many craft markets, not just for ceramics, where students and young artists can easily participate, was a big factor in starting my current activities. I've hardly ever done any exhibitions or sales like that in Japan, so I can't really compare, but one thing that struck me as a little different was when I had my graduate school graduation exhibition in London. Visitors and staff members who came to see my work bought my pieces, and the school even made an announcement saying, "If there's a piece you'd like to purchase, please inquire." So even when I looked at the exhibits of other departments, the pieces were marked as sold. Whether the artist was a student or an amateur, there was a culture where people bought what they liked, and there were customers who came to see the exhibitions every year in anticipation of this. I felt that this was quite different from graduation exhibitions in Japan, and I think that being able to sell my work little by little as a student and immediately after graduation was what made me want to pursue this as a career.

-You've been living in the UK for six years now, and I feel like your work is imbued with a Japanese aesthetic sense.

On the other hand, have you been influenced by British culture in any way?

I think the techniques used in classical Asian crafts from countries like Japan, China, Korea and India are truly amazing, and I feel inspired every time I see the classical pieces at the British Museum or the V&A Museum.

However, in order to actually sell my work and make a living I need to make things that sell, so I think that as I continue to work in the UK I am naturally influenced by the culture here and my work becomes more in tune with it. I feel that the types of work that interest people vary slightly depending on the country I'm based in, and as I continue to exhibit and sell my work I gradually get to know what kinds of things people are interested in in the UK, and I create through a process of trial and error, balancing that with what I want to make.

- I was so happy that Miyu was wearing the shirt. It looked great as workwear. I'd love to know if there was anything else you felt when wearing the shirt.

Anyway, it was quite moving to be able to have my photo taken in London wearing the shirt of a friend I've known since I was a teenager! Haha. Usually when I'm working alone I wear really casual work clothes, but when I think about it, work clothes are what I wear for the longest period of the year, so I thought it would be nice to wear nice clothes like this as workwear.

- I was so happy that Miyu was wearing the shirt. It looked great as workwear. I'd love to know if there was anything else you felt when wearing the shirt.

Anyway, it was quite moving to be able to have my photo taken in London wearing the shirt of a friend I've known since I was a teenager! Haha. Usually when I'm working alone I wear really casual work clothes, but when I think about it, work clothes are what I wear for the longest period of the year, so I thought it would be nice to wear nice clothes like this as workwear.

- The pandemic situation is very difficult, but if you have any plans for the future, please let us know.

I have the impression that 2020 was a year in which we were really at the mercy of COVID-19, but I also feel very fortunate that we were able to continue producing, delivering to stores and exhibiting and selling online even during the pandemic.

However, all physical exhibitions were cancelled, so I didn't get to see the audience's reactions in person, and I didn't get to create an exhibition space, so it was hard to feel a sense of accomplishment. I have plans for exhibitions and solo shows in 2021, but to be honest, I'm not sure what will happen. However, I think it's important to keep creating, whether I get an order for work or not, and I would like to make larger works and textile works in the future, so I would like to try to live my life as normally as possible and keep my hands moving.

Even after the interview, Miyu was still the same honest and strong person she was when she was a teenager.

And 15 years from now, when we're both halfway through our lives, we still haven't changed!

I can imagine them arguing like this.

Miyu Kurihara: Website