I begin my ceramic studies under Kenneth Beittel a skilled and spiritual mentor whose depth of understanding and ability to inspire his students to gain nourishment from the natural heart of ceramics still seems unparalleled.  Later, in 1963, I studied with the renowned, skillful and spiritual Japanese stoneware master Hamada Shoji and in 1965 with the superbly disciplined and skilled Japanese porcelain master Inouie Manji.  For my 1978-1979 sabbatical, I worked in the studio of the highly skilled master, Lee Jun Hee in Icheon, Korea.  

     Beittel wrote the book Zen and the Art of Pottery,     Hamada was, at the time of my work with him, a Human Cultural Treasure and Inouie later became one.  At the Lee studio, I was immersed in Korean studio practices.  

     The experiences with those amazing ceramic artists, and many ceramic research trips to Korea with Mary my wife, since that time have taught us many things about the ceramic forming and decorating processes used in Korea.

      We call our workshops “Korean Ceramic Workshops,” even though I also learned much from Japanese masters, because both Hamada and Inouie owe much to Korean ceramic artists, because I am Korean American and because some of the Korean processes are unique to Korea.

     Often the ceramic processes used in Korea are simpler and more direct than the ceramic processes most often taught in the West.    

     Mary, my wife, was an elementary art teacher.  I taught ceramics at a university.  When we taught the Korean forming processes to our students we discovered remarkable improvement in their work.  Mary’s third graders were making handles, spouts and pouring lips as well as college students.  High school students, taught by our former college students, were learning to throw quicker and with more precision.  They often amazed their other instructors when they went on to college or to a local art’s center.

     In 1996 we received a grant* to teach these ceramic processes to art teachers.  Those teachers made the same discovery.  Soon ceramic artists were joining our workshops -- some of these artists have international reputations.  At this writing, we have presented Korean Ceramic Workshops to more than 3500 ceramic artists and art teachers from at least 35 states.

     The workshops we now present grew from the workshops we presented under our grant.  As more information is gained, it is appropriately added to our workshops.