The work in Hafu Potter – Random Yokai is born from a meeting place of clay, fire, and story. Yokai are the supernatural beings, tricksters, and spirits of Japanese folklore—creatures that blur the line between the ordinary and the extraordinary. At once mischievous, grotesque, and wise, they embody the playful, unsettling, and often contradictory world of the imagination. These jars, jugs, and vases channel that spirit, giving form to figures that remind us the world is never as straightforward as we might wish.
As a Hafu, I turn to yokai as a way of connecting with my Japanese heritage. They are a link to story and imagination that help me reflect not only on cultural traditions but also on the deeper questions of how we see and make sense of the world. In moments when life defies explanation, yokai offer a language of wonder and ambiguity. Through them, I find a connection to heritage, to mystery, and to parts of life that resist easy definition.
Clay, like folklore, is a medium of transformation. Each vessel begins as earth, shaped by hand, but only becomes itself through the unpredictable alchemy of fire. I fire these works in Neiseru Gama, my wood kiln, where the flames mark the surface with ash, carbon, and heat. Just as yokai blur the boundary between the real and the imagined, wood firing resists complete control. The process leaves evidence of the fire’s passage, creating surfaces that are never fully repeatable and never entirely mine to decide.
Working with clay and fire is how I find my balance in the world. It is both grounding and spiritual, a conversation with materials and forces larger than myself. These works are vessels of that dialogue—expressions of humor, unease, reverence, and play. By encountering them, I hope viewers are invited into their own reflections on belief, perception, and the mysteries that shape our lives.
