Dark Moon,

1990s

Takaezu is renowned for her mastery of glaze and gestural brushwork, but it is less often remarked how subtle, spontaneous, and, paradoxically, deliberate her control of form was. One of the great attractions of clay for her was its unpredictability. More than once she said, “The clay always has something to say.” She was brilliant on the potter’s wheel but was unconcerned with a piece developing a wobble or a dent as she removed it from the wheel head. Sunrise Egg shows the irregularity of the construction of the form but also the artist’s ability to make the most of it with her glazing.
Moon was formed in two sections in plaster molds. Takaezu carefully eliminated any signs of the assembly of the two halves, persuaded that the result was “rounder than round”—and it was surely more alive in its careful play with surface and solidity. Dark Moon, on the other hand, expanded the join between the molded halves. Untitled was entirely formed on the wheel, but a slight waviness was introduced into the vertical sections to allow Takaezu to take advantage of the variations as she poured the glaze. Night was, improbably, also formed entirely on the wheel.

Don Fletcher, Class of 1974
Artist and President, Quakertown Studio Project