as a metalsmith i truly enjoy making vessels, focusing primarily on exploring the process and discovering how that process affects the design of the finished pieces. i am free and open as i hammer and watch the form evolve, responding to the way the metal naturally wants to move and really enjoying the marks made by my hammer. my work is spontaneous. the design is developed as i am making the object. when someone holds the vessel, i want them to feel the spontaneity in the making of it. i feel compelled to make the vessel form and do not linger upon why. "and everything i make, you don’t know why or how i make it or what it represents, because i really don't know. that's all i can say. what i don't know is what pushes me to work. it's intangible." —toshiko takaezu honey began as a single sheet of copper, probably 16 gauge, that i raised into a vessel shape. someone said it reminded them of a honey pot, so i called it honey. the scale is intimate and it is soothing to hold. the hammer markings are concentric and fluid. return to works