PENNY SIMPSON's interest in making pots started when she was living in Japan in the 1970s. She studied pottery in Kyoto and explored many of the pottery-making areas of Japan before writing The Japanese Pottery Handbook, which Kodansha International published in 1979. Following her training at the renowned Dartington Pottery in the U.K., Simpson set up her own workshop in Devon, moving to her present location in Moretonhampstead in 1994. She enjoys cooking and making pots which enhance the pleasures of preparing and eating food. She also makes planters, tiles, and commissioned commemorative pieces. She sells her work from her own showroom and exhibits widely in the U.K. and abroad. LUCY KITTO learned to pot at a very young age at the Dartington Hall School under the tutelage of potter Bernard Forrester. In her early twenties, she travelled to Japan where she lived with Penny Simpson and attended the same pottery school. This was where they first saw the need for a book to support students studying ceramics in Japan. Since returning to England, Kitto has trained as a teacher, and is Art Coordinator at a school in Sheffield. KANJI SODEOKA was Penny Simpson's first pottery teacher and collaborated with her on the original edition of The Japanese Pottery Handbook.
"[The Japanese Pottery Handbook] is not a coffee table publication. It is far more useful than that: it is a very practical guide. . . . The publishers describe the first edition, published thirty-five years ago, as loved for its homespun charm, and it is hard to disagree. It has become a classic. This is a revised edition. . . the original authors have added new sections. . .; they have re-drawn many of their illustrations and added twenty-first century material such as useful web addresses. At the end of the book there is a fascinating list of towns where you will find potters or galleries who welcome visitors. It is very much in the tradition of the hands-on approach which was championed by Bernard Leach after his time spent in Japan. . . . Should you have the opportunity to visit or study in Japan the translations of common pottery terms will be invaluable. If you are unable to do so, this book is the next best thing. . . . I shall keep my copy close by. . . ." – CERAMIC REVIEW
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