Artist Statement 1

Machiko Shishido

As a small child, during breaks from piano practice, I used to cut paper into all kinds of shapes. When I was a little older, I created a little shadow-puppet theater with cut paper figures and my own music. With the help of a tape recorder and my sister, we held shows for neighborhood children. I enjoyed that.

Later, in Vienna, Austria, where I was studying solo piano performance, I started painting on clay boards with glazes. That led to my using wheels for clay work. Now my life in Washington, D.C. revolves around balancing my love for pottery with that of music.

When I play the piano, I reproduce the music created by composers such as Beethoven and Mozart. I can still express myself, but a key task of a pianist is to interpret the creative spirit of the composer. A potter, on the other hand, creates her own universe from a lump of clay, and she can even incorporate music in the design of her work.

My bowls are functional, wheel-thrown, and made of translucent porcelain with celadon glaze. Images are carved with various techniques. Either when lit by natural light or when a small candle is placed inside, these carved images appear as silhouettes.

Ms. Shishido is also a concert pianist with a masterfs degree (Diplom) in concert piano performance from the National Music University of Vienna, Austria. She has performed many solo and chamber music concerts in Austria, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan and the U.S.

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