Hataman Touen & Leon Ransmeier
Early in his research, Leon Ransmeier made what might seem an obvious discovery: the shapes of traditional Japanese ceramics feel good in your hand. Ransmeier wanted to respect such tactile forms while introducing a more technical vocabulary that invokes the relationship between comfort and work. Because tools are used with repetitive force, they are designed to be comfortable. The handles in his collection for 2016/ borrow the language of tools such as saws or wood planes.
The coffee pot handle is angled to make pouring easier. Volumetric slip-cast handles on the teapot, vase, and cup fill the hand when grasped; handles and spouts are literally stuck onto the vessel, their shapes celebrate this technique. The exterior surfaces of Ransmeier’s collection are unglazed. When interacting with the objects the user touches the clay directly, which has a soft and pleasing quality. Ransmeier has worked with Hataman Touen pottery to develop his collection in highly vitreous Amakusa porcelain - meaning it becomes glass-like when fired and the surface won't easily stain.
