The Art of the Potter
1971
(52 minutes)
Produced by David Outerbridge and Sidney Reichman
Produced by David Outerbridge and Sidney Reichman in 1971, this is the final and definitive film on the work and careers of Bernard Leach and Hamada Shoji made during their lifetimes.
Leach is interviewed in St. Ives, Cornwall, England and Hamada is shown working at his home in Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The Mingei Film Archive production team has also begun to restore and digitize the over nine hours of out-takes from The Art of the Potter which will be edited into short educational documentaries on pottery-making as practised at the Leach Pottery and at the Hamada workshop. These out-takes also contain extensive interviews with both Leach and Hamada, who speaks in English on camera for the first and only time.