"Joy of Making" Satoko Barash, a tribute to Doug Browe

“I give my greatest respect and gratitude to Doug Browe (May12, 1953 ~
April 5, 2023) for his generous support and encouragement. He gave me
and others an example of how to live as an artist.”

“I met Doug just as he started working at Mendocino College as a
studio technician, after he had established a successful career as a
studio potter in Ukiah. I was among a group of students he invited to
observe a wood-firing, that was happening at his family home in
Redwood Valley. I was immediately seduced by the subtle beauty of
wood-fired pottery, as well as the camaraderie of the wood-firing
community. He encouraged me to return for more firings with him and
his friends, and, before long, he allowed me to fire my own work in
the kiln, and sign up for stoking shifts. With this group, I learned
to clear the land of trees, build a kiln shed, deconstruct kilns, and
reuse bricks to build a new kiln. One of the biggest attractions to me
was being part of the community of potters who worked hard, shared
meals together, and shared their knowledge and time so generously.
This stretch of time, spent participating in the hands-on experience
of wood firing, would never have been possible for me, growing up as a
girl in Japan, without any direct connections to a pottery village or
trade traditions.”

“During this time, Doug went to the New College, finished his degrees
and went on to get a masters degree at Sacramento State University
while still working at Mendocino College. It was during this period
that Doug suggested that I begin experimenting with gas-fueled
salt-firings and soda-firings at Mendocino Art Center. I eventually
decided to build my own soda kiln, with my husband’s enthusiastic
blessing. By then, Doug had become a professor in the ceramics
department. I took a few kiln-building classes, and admitted to Doug
that the idea of constructing my own kiln was still daunting. He
suggested that I enroll in the kiln-building class again and then he
brought the entire class to my house to help build my kiln. The kiln
was two-thirds done when the semester ended. Doug and other potters
who participated in the wood-firings came for several work parties and
generously completed the construction. Then Doug and my classmates
fired with me a few times till the kiln worked properly.”

“Teaching seemed to come naturally to Doug. He gave us enough
information to work on, then let go. His enthusiasm for the craft was
contagious. His own work changed dramatically after leaving production
pottery and kept evolving. While glazing pots and stoking a kiln, we
had numerous discussions about making art, and the history and
philosophy of pottery making, as I’m sure Doug did with his students.
The conclusion of these kiln-side conversations centered around making
art as both a joy and a struggle, and the necessity to continue
making, exploring and moving forward in our practice. I feel very
lucky to have had Doug as my friend and mentor, and am forever
grateful.
I will be showing my soda fired ceramics for this gallery show.
The June show, “Joy of Making,” will open on May 31, and continue
through July 3, 2023. Please join the member artists at the First
Friday reception on June 2nd, 5-8 pm. There will be a short artist
talk by Satoko at 6:30 PM.

Satoko Barash’s work can be found at www.satokoceramics.com